The ancestor of Bārha Sayyids, Sayyid Abu'l Farah Al Hussaini Al Wasti, left his original home in Wasit, Iraq, with his twelve sons at the end of the 10th century or the beginning of the 11th century CE and migrated to India, where he obtained four estates in Punjab. Over time, Abu'l Farah's descendants took over Bārha riyasat (township) in Muzzafarnagar.[4]
There are four sub-divisions of Barha Sadaat in Muzaffarnagar area:[5]
the Tihaanpuri, whose chief town was Jansath, belong to Syed Najm uddin
the Chatraudi, whose chief town was Sambhalhera, belong to syed abu'l Fazaail Al Wasti,
the Kundliwal, whose chief town was Mujhera, belong to Syed Daoud.
the Jajneri, whose chief town was Bidauli, belong to Syed Abu'l Faraaish,
The origin of the Sadaat-e-Bara or Barha is traced to Sayyid Abu'l Farah Al Hussaini Al Wasti, son of Sayyid Daud Al Hussaini, who came to Ghazni in Afghanistan, from Wasit, at the invitation of Mahmud Ghaznavi. He had twelve sons of whom four settled in four villages Kundli Tihanpur, Jajner and Chhat-Banur, near the city of Patiala. These four sons founded a number of clans, the main ones being Chhatrodi, Kundliwal, Tihanpuri and Jajneri, from the villages assigned to them.[6]
History
Role in the Mughal empire
The Decapitation of Khan Jahan Lodi (3 February 1631), with Syed Mian Barha on the right and Khan-i Jahan Muzaffar Khan Barha on the leftThe Sayyid Brothers were de-facto rulers of the Mughal Empire in the 1710s[7]
The Barha Sayyid tribe was famous throughout the country for its obstinate valour and love of fight, as well as religious fervor.[8] The tribe traditionally composed the vanguard of the imperial army, which they alone held the hereditary right to lead in every battle.[9][10][11] In the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, the Mughal Emperor Jahangir makes the remark that "the Barha Sayyids are the bulwark of the empire."[12]
Aurangzeb's warning to his sons to be cautious in dealing with the Sayyids of Barha, "...because a strong partner in government soon wants to seize the kingship for himself", would eventually become true.[13][14][15]
Six years after the death of Aurangzeb, the Barhas became kingmakers in the Mughal empire under Qutub-ul-Mulk and Ihtisham-ul-Mulk, creating and deposing Mughal emperors at will.[16] Farrukhsiyar defeated the Mughal emperor Jahandar Shah at the Battle of Agra, due to the reckless bravery of the Barha Sayyids,[17] and rose as the Mughal emperor as a puppet of the Syed brothers. Farrukhsiyar was executed on the orders of the Syed Brothers, who raised three consequtive emperors to the throne.
After the Mughal empire
The Syeds of Barha were recruited in the Subah of Bengal, and proved to a formidable resistance to Alivardi Khan. Mirza Baqir Ali led a rebellion against Alivardi Khan, with a contingent composed of the Syeds of Barha. The Barha Syeds exhibited feats of hereditary gallantry, causing Alivardi Khan's men to flee from the battlefield.[18]
The Barha Sayyids regained many of their estates from the Marathas and regained their status in the parganah by the time of British arrival.[19]
Modern Era
Mohsin-ul-Mulk, a Barha Syed of Etawah, with Syed Ahmed Khan and Syed Mahmud
In the 20th century, Mohsin-ul-Mulk founded the Urdu Defence Association, or the Anjuman-i Taraqqi-i Urdu, committed to the perpetuation of the Urdu language.[20][21] Although the Syeds of Barha were Shi'as, Mohsin-ul-Mulk converted to Sunni Islam and authored the book Ayat-i Bayanat in which he showed why the Sunni faith was preferable.[22] Mohsin-ul-Mulk was one of the founders of the All India Muslim League in 1906.[23]
^" Tareekh Sadaat E Barha" written by Khan Bahadur Syed Muzaffar Ali Khan of Jansath & People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part Three page 1247 Manohar Publications
^Cite error: The named reference Dawn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Muslim Politics and Leadership in the South Asian Sub-continent |publisher=Institute of Islamic History, Culture and Civilization, Islamic University (Islamabad)
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