Pall Of Grief In This UP Village As It Mourns Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei's Death. Here's Why

Last Updated:March 02, 2026, 13:56 IST

Kintur village in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki mourns Ayatollah Khamenei’s death in US-Israel strikes, recalling ancestral ties.

A pall of gloom descended on Kintur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district after news broke of the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israel joint air strikes.

As reports of Khamenei’s death spread through social media and international news, silence gripped the narrow lanes of the village in Sirauli Gauspur tehsil, which shares an ancestral connection with Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini, Khamenei’s mentor and the founding father of the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to News18 India.

Khomeini’s grandfather, Syed Ahmad Musavi Hindi, was born in Kintur around 1790 before migrating abroad in the 19th century.

After knowing about the news, residents said that they felt a deep sense of shock and loss, viewing the development not just as a global political event but as a moment tied to their own history.

According to the news outlet, citing locals, Musavi’s ancestors left Kintur in the early 1800s, travelling first to Najaf and Karbala in present-day Iraq before settling in Khomein in Iran. Even after migrating, the family retained the suffix “Hindi" in their name to preserve their Indian identity.

“They may never have returned, but their legacy never left this soil," said an elderly villager, pointing towards the remains of ‘Syed Wada’, believed to be the ancestral home of the Musavi family. Once home to over 500 Musavi households, only a handful remain in the village today.

Residents said they were mourning the loss and praying for peace in the region. “We are shocked. We are also praying for the safety of Indians currently in Iran," a villager said.

Khamenei was killed in a major attack by Israel and the US. State media reported that the 86-year-old was killed in an air strike targeting his compound in downtown Tehran.

Iran has declared 40 days of state mourning following Khamenei’s death.

News india Pall Of Grief In This UP Village As It Mourns Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei's Death. Here's Why

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