Jaunpur: A village in Uttar Pradeh’s Jaunpur district is witnessing a rare occurrence among Muslim families who have started adding surnames such as Dubey and Tiwari in their names, claiming Hindu ancestry. They have also adopted the practice of service and worshipping cows to honour their lineage.
The story is from Dehari village, 45 km from the Jaunpur district headquarters. The village is predominantly Muslim. Some villagers began tracing their ancestry two years ago, leading to the scenario today, a report by News18 revealed.
Naushad Ahmed is now known as Naushad Ahmed Dubey. Naushad says that upon gathering information about his ancestors, he discovered that his father, Lal Bahadur Dubey, converted to Islam and became Lal Bahadur Sheikh. They originally belonged to Azamgarh.
After tracing his ancestry, Naushad Ahmed adopted the Dubey surname. He now also serves cows. However, no other member of his family has changed their surname.
Naushad says he has been using the Dubey surname for two years and feels that if people wrote their names according to their roots, half of the hatred would disappear.
“I have always opposed titles like Sheikh, Mirza, or Syed. I also found my gotra; it is Vats. Our ancestors used to say we were Dubeys. I’m not discussing religion. People connecting with religion will move toward enlightenment. Our worship practices may differ, but I don’t oppose any. I don’t know why our ancestors converted religions. I adopted the Dubey title to bring harmony,” he said.
In the same village, Sheikh Abdullah is now Sheikh Abdullah Dubey. Abdullah said he also traced his ancestors and began writing Dubey in his name. Another resident, Ehtesham Ahmed, said his ancestors were also Hindu Brahmins, but he hasn’t found it necessary to adopt a new title.
The question arises as to why this search for ancestors started only two years ago. Interestingly, only one member per family is adopting new surnames, prompting scepticism by some of a larger narrative.
