Barabanki, April 11 -- Iran and India have had civilizational ties and a spiritual and cultural connection among the Shia community.

The quiet village of Kintoor in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district holds a surprising historical distinction: it is the ancestral home of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Ayatollah Khomenei's grandfather, Syed Ahmad Musavi Hindi, was born in the village of Kintoor in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki in 1790. He later migrated to the village of Khomein in Iran, where his family lineage subsequently flourished.

Even after settling in the Iranian village of Khomein, he kept the suffix "Hindi" in his name to honor his Indian heritage.

It is said that at the age of about 40, Sy...