DEHRI (JAUNPUR): Sixty-seventy Muslims in this village in UP’s Jaunpur use Hindu surnames, claiming they have Hindu ancestry. They deny having embraced Hinduism, asserting they have no plans to do so. Naushad Ahmed is now Naushad Ahmed Dubey, Gufran is Thakur Gufran, Irshad Ahmed is Irshad Ahmed Pandey and Abdullah is Adbullah Dubey. This unusual choice has thrust Dehri into the spotlight, with some saying the use of Hindu surnames helps “bridge” the communal divide.
“Many Muslims elsewhere had been using titles such as Chaudhary, Solanki, Tyagi, Patel, Rana, Sikarwar for decades and no eyebrows were raised. But the use of titles like Dubey and Thakur have drawn attention. I never used ‘Sheikh’ with my name, like my relatives, as it’s an Arabic title and not Indian,” Naushad says. He owns seven cows and loves tending them.
“Senior members of my family were referred to as ‘Panditji’ in the village. My great grandfather told me that our ancestor Lal Bahadur Dubey had arrived in Dehri and purchased a zamindari (feudal estate) from one Hazari Singh. He converted to Islam,” said Naushad, adding he is still trying to find out what prompted Lal Bahadur to convert. Naushad practises Islamic rituals and offers namaz five times a day. “I have no desire to reconvert,” he says but is not averse to applying tilak on his forehead.
Naushad recalled he met Rajiv Srivastava – historian and president of Vishal Bharat Sansthan – two years ago and sought help to trace his ancestry. Srivastava cited records to conclude that Naushad’s ancestors were Brahims and that their gotra was “Vatsa”.
Sheikh Abdullah embraced “Dubey” claiming he had “found that his forefathers were Hindus” who used the same surname. Ehtesham Ahmed, another villager, found his forefathers were “Brahmins”. Ehtesham is, however, yet to adopt a Hindu surname as he is still to find out the title his forefathers used. “Many families in the village have started adopting Hindu titles,” he added.