Awayan

Awayan is a village near Belthra Road Railway Station in Ballia District, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
It was Also during the reign of Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq in Delhi that our ancestors at Anwayan (Mooris-e-Ala) Sheikh Bahauddin, a descendant of Hazrat Abu Ayub Ansari, was awarded a estate (Ta'alluqa) consisting of 52 villages by royal decree sometimes in 14 century AD and settled down there. It is stated that one Raja Bhimal of Majholi estate ( District Deoria UP) refused to pay the customery annual loyalty/ protection money to the throne which signified a sort of revolt. He was accordingly apprehended and brought to Delhi. On his pardon and release a contingent royal troops under the command of Sheikh Bahauddin was sent with him to install him back and keep a watch. He was accompanied by his wife and his younger bachelor brother Sheikh Nizamuddin.

While there ta Majholi they often used to cross over the other side of the river Ghagra for hunting, which was ruled by another Raja Rajbhar with his Capital at Chohangarh. The Raja once spotted the beautiful daughter of his Diwan( Chief Adviser) while she was bathing in the river and got her picked up and admiited to his household by force. Help was sought from Sheikh Bahauddinand, in the ensuing battle the Raja was defeated and killed and the girl restored to her family. The family now refused to accept her saying that the girl was no longer pure or virgin. She then accepted Islam and sheikh Bahauddin got her married with his younger brother Sheikh Nizamuddin. The Raja's estate of 52 villages was also confiscated and awarded to him, half of which he gave to his younger brother. The descendants of these two brothers are now settled in these villages with family name of Ansaris. The Siddiqui's element of Anwayan originally came from Siddiquis of Harihans Dist Siwan Bihar when Sheikh Tbarak Hussain(writer's grand father married the only daughter of Sheikh Chiragh Ali of Anwayan and settled down there. She had full or partial share in about eight villages around. Sheikh Tabarak Hussain was a great organizer and administrator. He re-organized the cultivation policy and revenue system, attracted craftsmen, service provider and farm labors to settle on the land to make it a self contained village. He got the land registered as "Waqw-al-Awlad which meant joint ownership by the family to protect against bi-furcation and individual sale etc. He reserved a portion of the land as "Waqf" for the village Mosque, Eidgah, Grave Yard and also gave away land for the village primary school and for a middle school in the market place. He oganized a quick justice system for his tenants and the hall reserved for this pupose is still called "Kautchehri". He died in 1899 at the age of 63 and his second son Shahid Hussain took over the affairs with formal "Dastar-Bandi" Ceremony in accordance with family traditions. The Family of Anwayan got an early start in western education by sending (Barrister) Mohammad Sami for his bar-at-law to England as early as in 1910. He retuned back in 1914 on completion of his studies just before the beginning of the 1st world war but with an English wife. He had hardly settled down in his professional practice in Banaras when he died in 1918. He had three sisters, the eldest was married with Sheikh Shahid Hussain, the next to Sheikh Abid Hussain(my father) and the youngest one to Sheikh Nizamuddin of Hari Hans(father of Dr, Mateen's mother). His widow along with her children shifted to Anwayan and then went back to England with them. Nothing is known about the family now specially after 1935. This was all a great set back to the family.

Meanwhile Khilafat movement led by Mohammad Ali & Shawkat Ali picked up. There was a call for by-cott of English education, My brother Abdul Ahad( Father of Wasim Ahmad Siddiqui) and cousin brother Subhan Allah left their High school and the next lot was sent to intitutions like "Nadwa". The  family was back to  western education with initiation of my father Sheikh Abid Hussain, when he sent Nasir Hussain Siddiqui to Muslim university of Aligarh in 1934. With the present disposition the family now is dispersed over many continents / countried like Australia, Newzealand, USA, Canada, Europe and Middle-Ewast beside India and Pakistan.  Family tree of Anwayan upto our generation can be seen on line Under the name of  Bahauddin Sheikh (Mooris-e-Aala) 

NOTE: Write up Script contribute by Mr. Ghulam Mohammad Siddiqui S/O Abid Hussain Siddiqui Karachi, Pakistan, 17th Dec 2009.