Another story is related as to how the Dutts of Punjab came to be

known as Hussaini Brahmins. According to this version, one of the

wives of Imam Hussain, the Persian princess Shahr Banu, was the sister

of Chandra Lekha or Mehr Banu, the wife of an Indian king called

Chandragupta.

When it became clear that Yazid was adamant on killing the Imam,

the Imam’s son Ali ibn Hussain rushed off a letter to Chandragupta

asking him for help against Yazid. When Chandragupta received the

letter, he dispatched a large army to Iraq to assist the Imam. By the

time they arrived, however, the Imam had been killed.

In the town of Kufa in Iraq, they met with one Mukhtar Saqaffi, a

disciple of the Imam, who arranged for them to stay in a special part

of the town, which even today is known by the name of Dair-i-Hindiya

or ‘the Indian quarter’.

Some Dutt Brahmins, under the leadership of one Bhurya Dutt, got

together with Mukhtar Saqafi to avenge the death of the Imam. They

stayed behind in Kufa, while the rest returned to India. Here they

built up a community of their own, calling themselves Hussaini

Brahmins, keeping alive the memory of their links with the Imam.