Barabanki/Lucknow,

01 March (HS): On Sunday, a dark cloud fell over Kintur hamlet in the Barabanki

area following the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid

US-Israeli airstrikes. According to locals, Kintur in the Badosarai area has an

ancestry relationship with Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, Khamenei's

mentor, whose grandparents are thought to have gone from the hamlet to Iran

some 150 years ago. Khomeini is best recognized as the leader of Iran's 1979

Islamic Revolution and the founding father of the Islamic Republic. Though much

has changed over time, people say the bloodline and its historical link remain

emotionally significant. According to Syed Nihal Ahmad Kazmi, who claims

lineage from Khomeini's family, Kintur was the birthplace of Khomeini's

grandpa, Syed Ahmad Musavi.

According to Kazmi, Musavi took part in India's

liberation movement and traveled to Iran on a religious pilgrimage in 1834. He

stated that because he was considered a freedom fighter, the British

administration reportedly refused to allow him to return to India. According to

Kazmi, Musavi then lived in Iran's city of Khomein, where his grandson Khomeini

was born. He also stated that Khamenei was a follower of Khomeini and continued

his legacy after the latter's death in 1989. Kazmi expressed regret at

Khamenei's death, calling it an attack on mankind. Dr. Syed Rehan Kazmi, Nihal

Ahmad Kazmi's nephew and a great-grandson of Khomeini, stated that Kintur has a

strong link to Iran owing to its ancestry.

He stated that Khamenei's death, as a follower of

Khomeini, was a great loss not just for Iran but also for Muslims worldwide. Syed

Hussain Zaidi, a resident, expressed anguish and disgust over the purported

execution, stating that Khamenei was widely recognized as a human rights

leader. He called for peace, claiming that violence is not a solution to any

situation. Following the reports, people gathered in Kintur and the surrounding

districts to hold prayers and condolence sessions. Residents said that

recitations and majlis were held in several locations for the departed soul.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi