The predominantly Muslim Dehri village of Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh has become quite a hot topic these days because of the names of its residents. At least sixty-seven Muslims in the village assert to have Hindu ancestors and hence adopted Hindu surnames. The individuals maintained that they have not done “ghar wapsi” or intend to convert to Hinduism in the future.

However, Gufran is now Thakur Gufran, Irshad Ahmed is now Irshad Ahmed Pandey, Abdullah is now Adbullah Dubey and Naushad Ahmed is now Naushad Ahmed Dubey. Hindu surnames, according to some, “bridge” the gap between the two communities. The change came after a campaign led by Vishal Bharat Sansthan, an organization encouraging people in the state’s Purvanchal region to reconnect with their roots to end religious conflicts. 7000 Muslims and 5000 Hindus live in the village.

Naushad who tends to his nine cows and was wearing a saffron scarf around his neck expressed, “Many Muslims elsewhere had been using titles such as Chaudhary, Solanki, Tyagi, Patel, Rana, Sikarwar for decades and no eyebrows were raised. But the use of titles like Dubey and Thakur have drawn attention. I never used ‘Sheikh’ with my name, like my relatives, as it’s an Arabic title and not Indian.” He further informed, “We started this practice around two years back when we came to know about our genuine ancestry. We got to know that we all were Hindus who got converted many generations ago.”

As per the Indian Express report, “As people used to address the senior members of my family as ‘Panditji’, I was curious about my ancestry and lineage. My great-grandfather told me that eight generations back, our ancestor Lal Bahadur Dubey of Rani ki Sarai had arrived in Dehri and purchased a ‘Zamindari’ from Hazari Singh. When he came here, he had already converted to Islam.” He has yet to learn the reason behind Lal Bahadur’s conversion.

Naushad offers namaz five times a day and performs Islamic rites. “I have no desire to reconvert,” he declared, however, doesn’t mind putting tilak on his forehead. He mentioned that two years ago, he sought assistance from historian and Vishal Bharat Sansthan president Rajiv “Guruji” Srivastava to discover his ancestry. According to records, Naushad’s ancestors were Brahmins and “Vatsa” was their gotra after which he embraced “Dubey” voicing he had “discovered that his forefathers were Hindus” who carried the same last name.

As he still doesn’t know the title his ancestors used, another villager Ehtesham has yet to take a Hindu surname. “Many families in the village have started adopting Hindu titles,” he stated and adding that they are now also taking care of cows. According to Dehri gram Pradhan (the head of the village) Farhan, he learned that his forefathers were Hindu after tracking them down four generations.

“These surnames like Sheikh, Pathan, Sayyad and Mirza are not our original surnames. These have been brought in by foreigners. We have not come from Afghanistan or Gulf. I cannot say under what conditions our ancestors had to convert to Islam but we can always use our original surnames to strike a harmonious chord with our Hindu brothers and live peacefully. This will also strengthen the nation,” stated Israr Ahmad who also embraced Dubey surname.

They all observe Islamic practices but also visit temples to honor Hindu gods. They participate in aarti at the village temple in addition to following the Quran. Meanwhile, Naushad faced criticism after publishing his full name on his daughter’s wedding invitation. Some people spread rumors that he had changed his religion and the wedding was called off. He has also been threatened, a report in Jansatta stated.

Local Kerakat police station in-charge Avnish Kumar Rai held a meeting in the village on 10th December after the development assured that the authorities will identify the mischievous elements and also take action against them. Meanwhile, Jaunpur Superintendent of Police Ajaypal Sharma added that additional police personnel have been deployed in the area as a precaution, though no official complaint has been lodged. He added that they are in contact with the locals.

Rajeev Srivastava mentioned that the organization’s goal is to assist people in discovering their ancestors again. He noted that many people have come forward to learn about their family history as a result of our “Reconnect with Roots” project. He informed that the campaign has extended beyond Jaunpur as families in Azamgarh, Ghazipur and Varanasi are also adopting Hindu surnames. He pointed out that Kunwar Naseem Raza Sikarwar of Ghazipur and others such as Irshad Ahmed Pandey and Rehan Dubey have played an important role in this movement.

He highlighted that the aim of thie campaign is to end religious disputes and voiced, “People can forget animosity toward one another if they are aware of their origins. Religion can be changed but not caste. Muslims have just as many castes as Hindus do. There are also Brahmins, Thakurs, and Vaishyas among Muslims. People might forget their enmity toward one another if we can identify their ancestry and demonstrate that such and such a person is also a Brahmin.”

He added that they also look through the gazetteer, historical land records and other pertinent old documents to determine the ancestry of people. They take people’s names and prove their caste lineage. He stated that the project commenced 5 years prior but it started bearing results in the districts of Purvanchal two years ago. The acceptance of ancestry is the goal of adopting Hindu surnames, not religious conversion or reconversion. Many Dehri locals emphasized that their decision is motivated by a desire for harmony and respect for one another. The village’s collected sentiment was expressed by Naushad who stated, “Religion should promote humanity, not hatred.”