Amid the Iran-Israel war and Donald Trump’s “warnings” to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khameini, a quaint village in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki has suddenly found itself in the spotlight. The reason? A claim that says Iran’s first Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei apparently has roots in UP. The internet is rife with speculations around the claim.
Several pages on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, which claim to document history, have shared that the Khomeneis are from UP.
Khamenei or Khomeini — Who Has Roots In India?
Many on the Internet are confused over which of Iran’s two Supreme leaders is connected to India’s Barabanki. Don’t be confused. Here’s the difference. First off, the titles of the two individuals are the same: Ayatollah. But their surnames are different: Khomenei and Khameini.
Ayatollah is an honorific title among the high-ranking Shia clergy.
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khameini is the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, who is in the eye of a storm, facing attacks from the US and Israel. The Khameneis are believed to be related to Prophet Muhammad.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, on the other hand, was Iran’s first Supreme Leader. The two Ayatollahs are not related.
It is this Khomenei family, which is believed to have roots in UP’s Barabanki.
From UP’s Kintoor To Iran
According to residents of Kintoor village, Dr. Rehan Kazmi and Nihal Kazmi, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s ancestors hailed from this very village. They allege that Khomeini’s forefathers travelled with the Nawabs of Lucknow on religious pilgrimages to Iran, establishing a historic connection between Barabanki and the Iranian revolution.
Kintoor is home to the ancient Kunteshwar Mahadev Temple, believed to date back to the Mahabharata era. It is this very land, say villagers, that once gave rise to the lineage of Iran’s top religious authority. While Ayatollah Khameini himself never visited the village, locals claim that generations of his ancestors once lived here. This is a reason why many in the village have openly voiced support for Iran and strong opposition to Israel amid the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.
As global tensions rise over the Iran-Israel confrontation, few know of this unique ancestral link being claimed from India. The locals asserted that it was individuals from Barabanki’s Kintoor who helped ignite Iran’s Islamic revolution, a narrative being kept alive by the purported descendants of the Khomeini family still residing in the area.
Iran’s Supreme Leader’s Indian Roots
According to “historical” accounts cited by villagers, Sayyid Ahmad Musavi — Ayatollah Khameini’s grandfather — was born around 1790 in Kintoor, then part of Sirouli Ghauspur tehsil. At the age of 40, he is believed to have joined the Nawab of Awadh on a religious journey to Iraq in 1830. From there, he moved to Iran and eventually settled in a village named Khomeyn in the Markazi province — a place that would later inspire the “Khomeini” name.
Ruhollah Khomeini eventually orchestrated a revolution that brought about an end to the Iranian democratic government. Ruhollah Khomenei started the theocratic Islamic government in Iran and installed himself as the Supreme leader.
In a cultural nod to his Indian roots, Sayyid Ahmad Musavi reportedly adopted the suffix “Hindi” to his name, a testament to his fondness for the language and poetry. He became known as Sayyid Ahmad Musavi Hindi — a name that is still remembered in literary circles for his poetic inclinations.
Kintoor villagers point to an old house known locally as the “Sayyid Wada”, which they claim belonged to the Khameini lineage. While much of the original estate is now lost to time, the exact location of Ahmad Musavi’s residence cannot be definitively confirmed. However, the symbolic connection persists through oral knowledge and claims.
Kintoor Backs Iran
Adil Khameini, a local who claims to belong to the same lineage, insists that their ideological support lies with India but expresses deep solidarity with Iran, especially during its current standoff with Israel and the United States. The locals, along with Adil, accuse the US and Israel of targeting innocents.
Ruhollah Khomeini, born in 1902 and raised by his mother and brother after his father’s death, grew up to be a scholar deeply versed in religion and global philosophy. Under the Pahlavi monarchy, which was perceived as oppressive and Western-backed, Khomeini emerged as a vocal critic. His resistance led to his eventual exile — a turning point that fuelled the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.
The claims of the Khameini lineage to have Uttar Pradesh roots are fascinating, but the lack of written accounts makes them difficult to verify. Till concrete proof of the claims is found, the stories of Kintoor village and the Khameini lineage are going to be handed down to generations orally.
Input By : Satish Kumar Kashyap
