It is observed as a national in holiday certain countries.

It is observed as a national in holiday certain countries. Hussain is buried in Kerbala (Iraq). His holy shrine is visited by millions of people, from all over the world, as a mark of veneration. It is in the very nature of great reformers that they belong to everybody, everywhere. Hussain's noble deed is so relevant to the entire human race, that I am sure there is a far bigger audience waiting for him somewhere than the one he has already. All that is required is to draw people's attention.

The contemporary society, irrespective of race and religion, would do well to have a closer look at the Hero of Kerbala as his message transcends the barriers of caste and creed, race and religion. Advocates of human rights, sociologists, reformers, theologians, all included, will find "delightful wisdom, sweet instructions, and a meaning suited to their mind", in his story. His message is certainly not an exclusive preserve of any particular group. It embraces the entire human race.

It was not a power struggle. Hussain persistently and explicitly expounded: "what matters to me is to 'correct', not conquer" - an affirmation that he would die in the firm belief that a despot's idiosyncrasies could never be an effective instrument of religious policies. Yazid became too big for his boots and assumed the characteristics of a despot who, almost as a condition of his position, made boastful and frivolous claims that he alone could lead the nation.

Hussain was, however, committed to redeeming Islam and maintaining the faith intact. He hoped that matters will improve and kept a law profile to preserve amity. He had a clear choice: stand aside and let Yazid act according to his whims; (and thus join in and implicitly justify his abominable escapades) or counter his devious bluster.

Hussain had to decide: to take the situation in its stride as a price worth paying for the "status quo"; or view it as an ominous foretaste of the consequences of the extensive damage done by the far-reaching anti-Islamic activities of Yazid, the mammon of unrighteousness, whose lust for power prompted him to beat the nation into the mould he favoured. He and his profane crew conspired to scuttle the ship of Islam by worse than heinous deeds, violating the aims for which Islam was born.

Hussain had no desire to live under such a corrupt Caliph. He wanted to act as quietly and "spontaneously" as possible so as to limit the possibilities of an open clash with the Caliph. But Yazid bargained hard.