Within the complex religious landscape of modern India, the community of Sindh stands out as a powerful example of interfaith relations. This Hindu community moved to India and practiced Sufism following Sindh’s inclusion to Pakistan in the 1947 partition. Drawing on a close analysis of literature and poetry, interviews with key informants, and a reading of historic rituals and architectures, Michel Boivin demonstrates that this active religious minority has managed to retain its unique Hindu-Sufi identity amidst the rigidification of official religions in both India and Pakistan. Of particular significance, Boivin argues, was the creation of sacred spaces called darbars. These shrines include a religious building where the Hindu Sindhis worship Sufi saints, chant Sufi poetry and perform Sufi rituals. In looking at this vibrant community as a trans-religious culture capable of navigating the challenges of the modern nation state, this book is an important contribution to understanding the Muslim-Hindu encounter in India.
By:
Dr Michel Boivin
Imprint: I.B. Tauris
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Weight: 531g
ISBN: 9781788315319
ISBN 10: 1788315316
Series: Library of Islamic South Asia
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 05 September 2019
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgements Table of maps, charts, and photos Table of annexes introduction Mapping the issue: From Sindh to the Sindhicate area Sufism and the Sufi culture of Sindh The Sufi and Hindu Encounter as an issue in Social Sciences Hinduism and Sufism in the Sindhicate area Chapter 1 the religious market in sindh ON the eve of partition Social structure and religious belonging in colonial Sindh The Amils, the intelligentsia, and the objectification of Sufism The recomposition of the religious scene and thedarbar culture The birth of a middle class and the emergence of Hindu Sufi paths Partition in Sindh Conclusion Chapter 2 the new settlement and the making of the darbars Building the darbars in India Authority, the legitimization process, and succession Naming the shrine in India as a first step Sacralising the new territory Conclusion Chapter 3 Sufi poetry and the production of the mystical space… Bhakti and Vedanta The classical Sufi corpus The modern Sufi corpus The vernacular ideology of the wahdat-e wujud Hindu references in the Sufi Poetry Conclusion Chapter 4 alternative Sufi structures as networking india and beyond… The darbar and its extensions The samadhias an alternative Sufi structure The Sufi mandir and the pilgrimage to Bijapur Mulchand Kafi Conclusion Chapter 5 rituals as connecting spaces and community Iconography as an idiom of transference Initiation and meditation Daily rituals and informal Sufi practices Annual fairs: From urs to versi The ‘Darazi satsangs’ Conclusion Chapter 6 the transmission of the sufi legacy in india Ram Panjwani (1911-1987) and the challenge of post-partition transmission Non-poetic chains for the transmission of Sufism Other networks of transmission The role of the diaspora in the transmission of the Sufi legacy Conclusion Chapter 7 the sufi paths and the Hindus of Sindh in Pakistan Sindhi Encounters between Sufism and Hinduism The Hindus and the Sehwan system The “Hindu dargah” of Tando Ahmad Khan, or framing a new category Neither Hindu, nor Muslim: The Sufi-related cults of the Sindhi Dalits Conclusion GENERAL Conclusion Glossary Annexes 1. Abstracts of Sufi poetry in Sindhi and English translation 2. Hindu Sufis’silsilas in Sindh Bibliography Index
Michel Boivin is an historian and anthropologist and currently Director of the Centre for South Asian Studies at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS), Paris.
Reviews for The Hindu Sufis of South Asia: Partition, Shrine Culture and the Sindhis in India
Michel Boivin is highly established in this field of study, and this book demonstrates his adroit. An in-depth exploration of a subject that is of considerable interest to South Asian religious thought, it provides a new and complementary addition to the literature on Hinduism and Islam by examining the way religious norms and beliefs are carried across time and space, and how these can persist in what would be assumed to be unwelcoming terrain. -- Charles M. Ramsey, Baylor University, USA
