Mohyals fought for the cause of Dharma from Punjab to Arabia

A unique ritual used to be observed by Hindu mourners during Muharram. On the night of Muharram, one of them masqueraded as a messenger, with bells on his body and a morchhal in hand. He would go running to each group of mourners, announcing in a sad voice, “Hussain kushta shud” (Persian for “Hussain has been killed”). In such a cultural atmosphere, who could imagine a Hindu-Muslim riot? Instead, a Hindu poet like Munshi Channoo Lal Lakhnavi ‘Dilgir’ was inspired to write marsiyas (the mourning ballads of Muharram). This atmosphere was later echoed by Munshi Prem Chand when he wrote his famous play Karbala, in which a group of Hindus fight in Karbala for the cause of Imam Hussain.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to us even in our globalised/fractured age, with communities clinging to their clothes and names like icons, for India herself played a crucial role in the Battle of Karbala, witnessed by the presence of the powerful community of ‘‘Hussaini’’ Brahmins or the Mohyals, even today a martial clan, often found in the ARMY/IAF.

In a recent book about the Mohyals, they say it is ‘‘the pride of national prides that they helped Imam Hussain in the cause of dharma’’. Says revered community leader Principal Vaid: ‘‘In every age and for every race, Mohyals fought for the cause of Dharma from Punjab to Arabia. They helped Imam Hussain in the battle of Karbala. Rahab Dutt was a highly esteemed figure in Arabia owing to his close relationship with the family of Prophet Mohammed. He fought on the side of Hazrat Imam Hussain in the Karbala war and his seven sons sacrificed their lives. Rahab chased away the murderers as they ran with the head of the Imam from Karbala to Damashq, carried by the hirelings of the tyrant Yazid. The Mohyals are the protectors of Ali’s descendants.’’ There is also record of Christians, such as Wahab-e-Qalbi, who sacrificed his life at Karbala, which highlights the multi-faith nature of the event.

The Karbala tragedy has been called the culmination of the promise made by Prophet Abraham, the common founding father of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, when he offered his son Ismail as a sacrifice to God. It is believed that as Prophet Abraham was only tested through his promise (Ismail did not die), the Imam fulfilled it by his matrydom — joining the three Abrahamic faiths in a common heritage. And through this history runs the Hindu red thread of honour.