{{Short description|Sub-caste of Saraswat Brahmins}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} '''Mohyal Brahmins''' are a sub-caste of Saraswat Brahmins from the Punjab region.<ref name=":0" /> A sub-group of the Punjabi Hindu community, Mohyal caste comprises seven clans named Bali, Bhimwal, Chhibber, Datt, Lau, Mohan and Vaid.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hanks |first=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vG7MZ9J6dAgC&q=Mohyal |title=Dictionary of American Family Names: 3-Volume Set |date=2003-05-08 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-508137-4 |location=USA |pages=89, 414, 605 |language=en}}</ref>
Several Mohyal families might also opt to use surnames like Bakhshi, Bhai, Chaudhri, Dewan, Malik, Mehta, and Raizada, as a hereditary courtesy title bestowed upon their families for their bravery and service.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-26 |title=Mohyal History – Mohyal History |url=https://mohyalhistory.com/mohyal-history/ |access-date=2025-08-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>
According to an oral tradition, some Mohyal Brahmins helped Imam Hussain in the Battle of Karbala; these Mohyal Brahmins are called Hussaini Brahmins.<ref name="HussainiBrahmins">Multiple sources: *{{cite news | date=5 November 2014 | language=en | publisher=Firstpost | url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/meet-the-hussaini-brahmins-hindus-who-observe-muharram-alongside-muslims-1788623.html | url-status=live | access-date=14 April 2022 | title=Meet the Hussaini Brahmins, Hindus who observe Muharram alongside Muslims | archive-url=https://archive.today/20220414061233/https://www.firstpost.com/living/meet-the-hussaini-brahmins-hindus-who-observe-muharram-alongside-muslims-1788623.html | archive-date=14 April 2022 }} *{{cite news |date=30 September 2019 |last=Datta |first=Nonica |url=https://thewire.in/religion/the-forgotten-history-of-hussaini-brahmins-and-muharram-in-amritsar |url-status= live |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101130440if_/https://thewire.in/religion/the-forgotten-history-of-hussaini-brahmins-and-muharram-in-amritsar |archive-date=1 November 2020 |title=The Forgotten History of Hussaini Brahmins and Muharram in Amritsar |publisher=The Wire}} *{{cite news |date=5 November 2014 |last=Akram |first=Maria |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/For-Hussaini-brahmans-its-Muharram-as-usual/articleshow/45039950.cms |url-status=live |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122165217/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/For-Hussaini-brahmans-its-Muharram-as-usual/articleshow/45039950.cms |archive-date=22 January 2016 |title=For Hussaini brahmans, it's Muharram as usual |work=The Times of India}} *{{cite news |date=21 September 2018 |first=Khalid|last=Alvi|author-link=Khalid Alvi |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/hussaini-brahmins-hindus-muslims-muharram-mohyal-brahmins-5367234/ |url-status=live |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928131917/https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/hussaini-brahmins-hindus-muslims-muharram-mohyal-brahmins-5367234/ |archive-date=28 September 2018 |title=In Good Faith: The Hindus with Hussain |work=The Indian Express}} *{{cite news |date=31 December 2017 |last=Sheikh |first=Majid |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1379906 |url-status=live |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101100115/https://www.dawn.com/news/1379906 |archive-date=1 January 2018 |title=Spiritual connect of two villages on both sides of the divide |publisher=Dawn|location=Pakistan}} *{{cite news |date=4 October 2018 |last=Rasool Dehlvi |first=Ghulam |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/op-ed/041018/mystic-mantra-hussaini-brahmins-upheld-the-truth.html |url-status=live |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003234208/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/op-ed/041018/mystic-mantra-hussaini-brahmins-upheld-the-truth.html |archive-date=3 October 2018 |title=Mystic Mantra: Hussaini brahmins upheld the truth |work=Deccan Chronicle}} *{{cite news |date=25 November 2012 |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/where-hindus-join-shias-to-mourn-imam-hussain/story-WYAq3mZrRbABPzSXlSCR0J.html |url-status=live |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815180628/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/where-hindus-join-shias-to-mourn-imam-hussain/story-WYAq3mZrRbABPzSXlSCR0J.html |archive-date=15 August 2017 |title=Where Hindus join Shias to mourn Imam Hussain |work=Hindustan Times}} *{{cite news |date=5 November 2014 |last=Tharoor |first=Ishaan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/11/05/why-these-hindus-celebrate-the-muslim-festival-of-moharram/ |url-status=live |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220330150436/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/11/05/why-these-hindus-celebrate-the-muslim-festival-of-moharram/ |archive-date=30 March 2022 |title=Why these Hindus celebrate the Muslim festival of Moharram |newspaper=The Washington Post}} *{{cite web |date=16 May 2004 |first=Yoginder|last=Sikand|author-link=Yoginder Sikand |url=https://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2004/16-31May04-Print-Edition/1605200441.htm |url-status=live |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040824205552/https://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2004/16-31May04-Print-Edition/1605200441.htm |archive-date=24 August 2004 |title=Hindu followers of Muslim imam |work=The Milli Gazette}}</ref> Prior to the Partition of India, Mohyal Brahmins lived primarily in the western Punjab, including present-day Hazara division and the Pir Panjal regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Jammu and Kashmir respectively.
After the partition, most migrated to, and settled in the new created Republic of India. As per data by the Government of Punjab, the priestly practice of Mohyal Brahmins has slowly reduced after the partition.<ref>{{cite web |date=31 January 2012 |url=https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1305628/1226_1374670688_ind39846.pdf |access-date=20 March 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107153948/https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1305628/1226_1374670688_ind39846.pdf |archive-date=7 January 2022 |title=Country Advice: India |work=Refugee Review Tribunal}}</ref> Mohyals do not perform priestly duties.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ttcnAQAAMAAJ&q=Sharma|title=Multiculturalism: Public Policy and Problem Areas in Canada and India|last=Raj|first=Christopher S.|year=2009|publisher=Manak Publications |isbn=9788178311845}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fazl |first=Abul |date=5 November 2014 |url=https://kashmirobserver.net/2014/11/05/the-brahmins-who-fought-for-imam-hussain-at-karbala/ |access-date=8 July 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204202830/https://kashmirobserver.net/2014/11/05/the-brahmins-who-fought-for-imam-hussain-at-karbala/ |archive-date=4 December 2021 |title=The Brahmins Who Fought For Imam Hussain at Karbala |work=Kashmir Observer Online}}</ref>{{Hinduism in India| collapse}}
== Contributions to Sikhism == The majority of Mohyal Brahmins identify as Hindu, with some also identifying as Sikh. Guru Nanak, continuing in the tradition of Bhakti Saints, revitalised Sanatan ('Hindu') wisdom in order to make to accessible for the common people of late Medieval India.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Bhakti religion in North India : community identity and political action|date=1995|publisher=State University of New York Press|others=Lorenzen, David N.|isbn=0-585-04526-7|location=Albany|oclc=42854916}}</ref>{{page needed|date=June 2024}} As a part of this transformation, many Punjabi Hindus, including the Mohyals, revered and followed Guru Nanak. This devotion towards Nanak's ''mat'' (teachings/wisdom) led them to follow Nanak's successors and then assist in the creation of the Sikh ethos. Moreover, as the latter Gurus became martial, this community was a natural home for the warrior-class of the Punjabi Hindus.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Who is a Sikh? : the problem of Sikh identity|last=McLeod, W. H.|date=1989|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=0-19-826548-4|location=Oxford|oclc=19125681}}</ref>{{page needed|date=June 2024}}<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book|title=The Construction of religious boundaries : culture, identity, and diversity in the Sikh tradition|last=Oberoi, Harjot.|date=1994|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-61592-8|location=Chicago, IL|oclc=30157084}}</ref>{{page needed|date=June 2024}}
Some notable Mohyals include the brothers Bhai Mati Das and Bhai Sati Das, both died alongside the ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, for protecting Hinduism from Aurangeb's extremist policy.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The history of Sikh gurus|last=Prithi Pal Singh, 1928-|date=2006|publisher=Lotus Press|isbn=81-8382-075-1|location=New Delhi|oclc=297207913}}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}}
==See also== * Punjabi Hindus * Saraswat Brahmins * Hussaini Brahmins
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://sundayguardianlive.com/news/book-captures-indias-military-history-tales-warriors] * [https://www.mohyalonline.com/ Official Website of General Mohyal Sabha] * [https://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2004/16-31May04-Print-Edition/1605200441.htm Hindu followers of Muslim imam, The Milli Gazette, Vol.5 No.10, (16–31 May 04)] * [https://www.merit.ac.in/ Official Website of Educational Institution Directly run by G.M.S.]
{{India topics}} {{Demographics of India}} {{Brahmin communities}} {{Hinduism in Pakistan}} {{Ethnic groups, tribes and clans of the Punjab}} {{Social groups of Jammu and Kashmir}} {{The seven Mohyal clans}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohyal (Jati)}} Category:Indian castes Category:Mohyal Category:Brahmin Category:Hindu communities Category:Hindu communities of Pakistan Category:Punjabi Brahmins Category:Brahmin communities Category:Brahmin communities of India Category:Punjabi tribes Category:Social groups of Delhi Category:Social groups of Punjab, India Category:Social groups of Jammu and Kashmir Category:Tribes of Rawalpindi District