SUFI SAINTS AND STATE POWER The pirs of Sind, 1843-1947 SARAH F. D. ANSARI British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London The right of the University of Cambridge to print and sell all manner of books was granted by Henry VIII in 1534 The University has printed and published continuously since 1584. Cambridge University Press Cambridge New York Port Chester Melbourne Sydney Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RP 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Victoria 3166, Australia © Cambridge University Press 1992 First published 1992 Printed in Great Britain by Redwood Press Limited, Melksham A cataloguing in publication record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress cataloguing in publication data Ansari, Sarah F. D. Sufi saints and state power: the pirs of Sind, 1843—1947 / Sarah F. D. Ansari. p. cm - (Cambridge South Asian studies) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0 521 40530 0 1. Sindh (Pakistan) — Politics and government. 2. Islam and politics — Pakistan - Sindh. 3. Sufis — Pakistan - Sindh - Political activities. I. Title. II. Series. DS392.S58A57 1992 954.9-dc20 91-16242 CIP ISBN 0 521 40530 0 hardback To Akbar Contents List of illustrations page x Acknowledgements xi A note on spelling xiii List of abbreviations xiv Glossary xvi Introduction 1 1 Sind and itspirs up to 1843 9 2 Creating a system of political control after 1843 36 3 Challenge to the system: the Pir Pagaro and the Hur rebellion of the 1890s 57 4 Challenge to the system: the Khilafat movement, 1919-1924 77 5 A more complex system of political control: pits and politics under the raj, 1900-1947 101 6 The final challenge: the Pir Pagaro again 129 Epilogue 150 Conclusion 155 Select bibliography 161 Index 171 IX Illustrations Maps 1 General map of Sind page 10 2 Location of important Suhrawardi shrines 18 3 Location of important Qadiri and Naqshbandi shrines 21 Plates 1 The Pir Pagaro, Pir Hizbullah Shah (1847-90) 65 2 Shrine and mosque of Pir Pagaros at Pir-jo-Goth, Sind 66 3 Ziarat platform at Pir-jo-Goth, Sind 67 4 The Pir Pagaro, Pir Shah Mardan Shah (1897-1921) 73 5 The Pir Pagaro, Pir Sibghatullah Shah II (1921-43) 131 6 Tomb of Pir Shah Mardan Shah at Pir-jo-Goth, Sind 132 7 Present home of Pir Pagaro at Pir-jo-Goth, rebuilt in the style of the 'palace' destroyed by the British there in 1943 146 Acknowledgements This research would have been very difficult without funding from the British Academy in the shape of a Major State Studentship Award which permitted me to pay a lengthy visit to Sind. It was also made easier by a grant from the Central Research Fund of the University of London for which I remain grateful as well as for my period as British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow. However, without the help of a great many people this research would have been virtually impossible. Space does not allow me to mention everyone by name, but I extend to them all my thanks. I would like to thank the Vice-Chancellor of Sind University, Mazhar al-Haq Siddiqi for providing excellent accommodation at the Jamshoro campus, and the University authorities for extending the same hospitality at the campus at Khair- pur. At Sind University, Hidayat Prem, Dr Mubarak Ali Khan and Khan Muhammad Panhwar gave much of their time enabling me to get the most out of my stay. The staff at the Institute of Sindhology, under its Director, Mahtab Channa Rashdi, in particular Abdul Qadir Junejo, Ghulam Muhammad Shah and Dr Dur Muhammad Pathan, also offered valuable assistance. I am much obliged to Abdul Qadir Salwati who helped a great deal in carrying out photo- copying and microfilming. I remain indebted to Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo for his advice and the interest which he showed in my research. Similarly, I am most grateful to Pir Ali Muhammad Rashdi and Begum Mumtaz Rashdi for their practical help such as enabling me to witness the dastarbandi ceremony of the Pir of Naing, not from behind a discreetpardah screen but sitting on the platform in front of thousands of thepir's murids. As far as my trips into the interior of Sind are concerned, the list of names XI Acknowledgements grows even longer, and my thanks go out to: Dr G. A. Allana, Vice-Chancellor of the Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, for introducing me to Abdullah Wariya and Babar Soomro who gave me their undivided time and energy (not forgetting their cook who introduced me to the delights of Sindhi cuisine); Munir Shah for making me so welcome at Pir Zakri No. 1; G. M. Syed for allowing unrestricted access to his private papers at Sann; Altaf Hussain Mangi, Assistant Com- missioner at Tando Allahyar for using his official weight to open many doors; Khwaja Saheb and his family at Mirpur Bathoro for looking after me so splen- didly, and Ghulam Muhammad Johar for letting me consult his collection of old Sindhi newspapers; Ghulam Muhammad Pirzada at Kotri Kabir; Altaf Azim Mangi at Ranipur; Tanwir Abbasi at Khairpur; Mufti Muhammad Rahim Sikandari at Pir-jo-Goth; Rashid Bhatti at Sukkur; Allahbakhsh Muhammadi at Pano Aqil; Pir Zahid Shah at Ghotki; Shaikh Sanallah at Shikarpur; and Askar for the loan of his car. Not least of all, I would like to thank the many/>*Vs and their families who allowed me to bombard them with questions and, in return, over- whelmed me with hospitality in the way that Sindhis know how. Equally essential to this study was the work carried out in various libraries and archives in Pakistan and England. I am grateful to the librarians and staff of: the library of the Institute of Sindhology, Jamshoro; University of Sind Library, Jamshoro; Al-Wahid Library, Mirpur Bathoro; Khairpur Divisional Public Library, Khairpur; Commissioner of Sind Records Office, Karachi; Sind Archives, Karachi; Freedom Movement Archives at the University of Karachi; Quaid-i Azam Academy, Karachi; Liaqat National Library, Karachi; Panjab University Library, Lahore; Quaid-i Azam University Library, Islamabad; National Archives, Islamabad; British Library, London; India Office Library, London; School of Oriental and African Studies Library, London; and Royal Holloway and Bedford New College Library with special thanks to Angela Carter. I am also grateful to Ruth White for her help. Finally, I would like to thank Dr Frank Snowdon for suggesting that I did research in the first place; Professor Kenneth Ballhatchet for whetting my appetite during my MA year; and Dr Francis Robinson for his guidance and encouragement, from which I have benefited enormously. To Humayun, I say the biggest 'thank you' of all: for introducing me to the subcontinent and to Sind in particular, and for giving me so much support without which this work would certainly never have been done. A note on spelling It is often difficult to maintain consistency in spelling partly because Indians themselves have used a variety of spellings, and partly because of phonetic problems. To achieve a satisfactory compromise, and at the risk of losing a certain amount of linguistic precision, I have used spellings which reflect the way in which names are pronounced in the subcontinent, with all diacritical marks omitted. Place names, on the whole have been spelt according to the Gazetteer of Sind B, vols. I-VII (Bombay, 1919-26); however, where spellings used today differ from those in the volumes of the Gazetteer, the former have taken precedence. Abbreviations AIML All-India Muslim League BP Bombay Proceedings Com-Sind Commissioner-in-Sind Conf. Confidential CSR Commissioner of Sind Records Office, Karachi CSAC Centre of South Asian Studies, Cambridge FMA Freedom Movement Archives, Karachi University, Karachi GMSP G. M. Syed Papers, Sann, District Dadu, Sind H/A History of Alienations HCP Home Confidential Proceedings INC Indian National Congress IOL India Office Library and Records, London IS Institute of Sindhology, Jamshoro, Sind LP Lambrick Papers MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly n.d. not dated n.p. not paginated NWFP North-West Frontier Province PFR Panjab Fortnightly Report PSFR Panjab States Fortnightly Report QAC Quaid-i Azam Cell Papers, Quaid-i Azam Academy, Karachi SFR Sind Fortnightly Report SHC Shamsul Hasan Collection, Karachi SPML Sind Provincial Muslim League Abbreviations UP United Provinces USNA United States National Archives xv Glossary afrinnama: certificate of appreciation batai: division of produce of land ahl-i-kitab: people of a revealed book or between zamindar and hari scripture; in Islamic law such non- be-piri: the state of being without a pir Muslim peoples are to be publicly bhajan: Hindu religious poetry tolerated in the dar al-Islam on the bigah: land measure standardised by the acceptance of the status of dhimmi British as five-eighths of an acre alim: Islamic theologian, jurist, biradari: lit., 'brotherhood; used to religious teacher (pi. ulama) refer to patrilineal kinship groups aman sabha: peace association bund: embankment anjuman: assembly, meeting, burqa: garment worn by Muslim women association, usually of Muslims incorporating veil to cover the face Anjuman-i Khuddam-i Kaaba: Society charka: spinning wheel of the Servants of the Holy Places chauki: watchman or guard duties auqaf: plural of waqf, property which chauth: levy imposed upon inheritance cannot be transferred and which is of ajagir, the purpose of which was to therefore inalienable assert the Government's right to a azad: free partial assessment on jagir lands bads hah: emperor, king crore: one hundred lakhs barakat: blessing power; spiritual (= 10,000,000) charisma dai: I smaili missionary bagh: garden dali: offering, gift baiat: a vow of spiritual allegiance to a dar al-harb: lit., 'land of war', a pir, usually accompanied by a simple territory in which the Sharia is not ceremony observed bait al-mal: lit., 'house of wealth'; the dar al-Islam: lit., 'land of Islam', a public treasury in Islamic lands territory in which the Sharia is bania: Hindu trader, merchant; often observed acted as moneylender dar al-Ulum: lit., 'the abode of xvi Glossary sciences', hence used to describe should lead the community and Muslim seminaries.