Dewait is a village in the Azamgarh district of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, India, situated near the Mehnagar Market. It lies 15 km south of Azamgarh city, and is accessible from

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

, Jaunpur and

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

. Including the adjoining areas, the village has an estimated population of between 10,000 and 15,000 people. The village has a post office with the pin code 276204, and a dispensary run by state government.

History

Dewait is the Place of ''Sa'adaat''. The name was derived from ''Shah Deyat'', an Arabic word meaning ''Blood Money''. Dewait was donated by the King Haribans of Mehnagar to "Meer Sarfatah Husain" (Meera Baba — a well known name among neighbouring villages), against the blood shedding of ''Sa'adaat''. Martyr Sa'adaats are believed to have migrated from the area of Babun Nahar in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. In those years many

Shiites Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...

of central Asia took refuge in India. A few centuries ago, the Noble Family of Ahl-e-Sa'adaat migrated from the Holy City of Babun Nahar in

to India. Some of them permanently settled near Azamgarh city, a district of Uttar Pradesh, and named the area ''Babun Nahar'' after their native village. It is now called ''Sapnahar'' (a modified name from Babun Nahar, then Babnahar, and now Sapnahar) and is one kilometre from present Dewait. Only the graveyard of ''Meer Sarfatah Husain'' (Meera Baba) is there, now a worship place for non Muslims. Muslims go there only on Shab-e-Barat, an Islamic religion occasion, to offer prayers.

Religion and demography

Residents of Dewait are referred as Azmi because of Azamgarh District. Approximately 300 to 500 of the Muslims are Twelver Shiites from the Rizvi Clan.

References

External links

*http://travelspedia.com/South-Asia/India/Uttar-Pradesh/8233.html *http://www.whereincity.com/india/pincode/uttar-pradesh/azamgarh.htm *http://shailendrasinghazamgarh.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html *http://wikimapia.org/7969043/dewait *http://sthweb.bu.edu/shaw/anna-howard-shaw-center/biography?view=mediawiki&article=Dewait {{Azamgarh district Villages in Azamgarh district