From UP's Barabanki To Tehran: The Indian Roots Of Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei
What is lesser known -- even in Iran -- is that both Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, share ancestral ties with India
Long before Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini stormed Iran's political stage, his roots could be traced back all the way to a small village in the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh. Born around 1790 in Kintoor's Siroli Gauspur tehsil, Syed Ahmad Musavi Hindi — Khomeini's grandfather — sowed the seeds of a legacy that would one day reverberate across continents.
As global attention fixes on the Iran-Israel conflict, this unexpected tale of a scholar born in Uttar Pradesh has resurfaced. 'They never returned, but their legacy did not leave this soil," said an elderly man in Kintoor, the unassuming village that once birthed a family destined to shape Iran's history.
What is lesser known — even in Iran — is that both Khomeini and his successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, share ancestral ties with India. Their lineage leads directly to Kintoor, a village in north India's Gangetic plains, steeped in Shia Islamic learning. As geopolitical tensions escalate in West Asia, this forgotten bond between Iran's revolutionary elite and rural Barabanki is drawing fresh attention.
A LOST CHAPTER OF HISTORY
Syed Ahmad Musavi was born into a prominent family of Shia scholars in Kintoor. In 1830, at the age of 40, he embarked on a religious pilgrimage alongside the Nawab of Awadh. Their journey took them through the revered Islamic cities of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq and, ultimately, to Khomein in Iran, where Musavi chose to settle permanently.
Even after resettling, he remained fiercely proud of his Indian roots. In Iran, he appended 'Hindi" to his name — a nod to his homeland. 'He added 'Hindi' to his name to keep Hindustan alive in his identity," said Syed Adil Kazmi, a descendant of the Musavi family still living in Kintoor. 'He was proud of being from India, and even his poetry reflected that sentiment."
Musavi was not just a religious scholar but also a man of letters. 'He was deeply influenced by both Indian and Persian literary traditions," said Shabbir Ali, a retired madrasa teacher who has preserved oral histories of the family. 'Even in Iran, he made sure his children knew of their Indian past."
Local residents still point to the remnants of 'Syed Wada', the Musavi family's ancestral residence in Kintoor. The once expansive structure has withered over time, but people still regard it as a sacred marker.
'It's hard to pinpoint the exact location now, but this is where it all began," said Adil, who claimed to be the eighth generation of Syed Ahmad Musavi Hindi.
Syed Wada, the house, though decayed bears witness to a transcontinental journey that helped forge the Islamic Republic of Iran. 'Visitors from Lucknow and even farther come here just to see this place," said Sajjad Rizvi, another local resident. 'They're amazed that such a towering global figure traces his roots to our village."
A POLITICAL AND EMOTIONAL BOND
For many in Kintoor, the link to Iran isn't just a matter of history — it's an emotional and even political connection. With tensions running high in the Middle East, many villagers openly express solidarity with Iran.
'We are Indians, but our sentiments are with Iran. That's the land where our bloodline now walks. The West and Israel are shedding innocent blood. We stand against injustice," said Imran Naqvi, a local youth.
THE MAKING OF A SUPREME LEADER
The legacy of Syed Ahmad Musavi lived on in his grandson, Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, born in 1902 in the Iranian city of Khomein. Orphaned early in life, he was raised by his mother and elder brother and grew into a scholar of Islamic law, mysticism, and philosophy. He read widely, including the works of western thinkers — an intellectual breadth that would later shape his revolutionary worldview.
In 1979, Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini led the Islamic Revolution that deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ending Iran's monarchy and establishing a theocratic republic. He became its first Supreme Leader, wielding unmatched political and religious authority.
Despite holding the highest office, Khomeini led a life of simplicity. His modest, single-storey house in Tehran remains a symbol of his personal austerity. Even when the house was gifted to him, Khomeini insisted on paying 1,000 riyals — an emblematic gesture of principled leadership.
'Supporters offered to decorate it, but he refused public money," read an entry in Iranian archives.
KHAMEINI CARRIES THE TORCH
After Khomeini's death in 1989, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took over as Supreme Leader. Today, he guides Iran through another major crisis as it exchanges missile fire with Israel. In recent addresses, Khamenei has vowed not to yield to western or Israeli pressure, continuing the ideological line drawn by his predecessor.
Iran's nuclear programme has again become a focal point of global anxiety, with uranium enrichment reportedly reaching 60 per cent — dangerously close to weapons-grade levels. While Israel sees this as an existential threat, Iran insists its nuclear ambitions are purely peaceful.
FORGOTTEN NO MORE
Back in Kintoor, Syed Ahmad Musavi's legacy is no longer confined to fading memories and old courtyards. Despite struggling with rural challenges like patchy electricity and poor infrastructure, the village now holds a unique place in world history — as the ancestral home of Iran's two most powerful spiritual and political leaders.
'This story must be documented more seriously," said Dr Shoaib Akhtar, a historian at Lucknow University. 'Not just as a cultural curiosity, but as a powerful reminder of how histories and destinies can intertwine across borders."
As the world watches Iran's next move on the geopolitical chessboard, few may realise that part of its spiritual compass was once set among neem trees and ancient mosques in Barabanki. And here, in the soil of Kintoor, still echoes the name of a man who proudly signed off as 'Ahmad Musavi Hindi'.
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tags :
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Location :
Lucknow, India, India
First Published:
June 20, 2025, 07:00 IST
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