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the-south-asian.com April 2001 |
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Page 2 of 5
Sufis - Wisdom against
Violence by Salman Saeed
South Asia - a brief history of human evolution The first act of this drama is from the early civilizations
of Mohenjodaro and Harappa 3000-5000 BC - where potter’s wheel, and bow
drill were first invented. Sindhi Dravidic language evolved from originally
Dravidian terms and phonetics to Aryan Prakritic languages resulting from
Aryan invasions from west of South Asia. The Vedic writings and the Mauryan,
Buddhist, Gandhara texts followed this as the second act. Yet, during the saga of continuing invasions of Alexander
the Greek [326-325 BC], the Ghaznavids, followed by Central Asians -Timurlane,
Babar, Nadir Shah - there have been a few messengers and saints in the name
of Sufis who came and settled amidst the same ancient civilizations - that
of the Indus valley of Sind and Punjab- and beyond in Delhi, Ajmer and
Kashmir. Central Asian & Mongolian tribes [Ghengis Khan’s
descendents, namely Timur the Lame] were constantly raiding, invading and
pillaging parts of Northern India. Delhi and Lahore were the usual targets,
with Lahore receiving a " double whammy" as Punjab was like a
"half-way" house both on the way and going back towards central
Asia. Eminent scholars and administrators migrated to Lahore and Delhi from
Central Asia. Prosperity [Surplus value] and the evolution of Language: The prosperity of this area gave rise to a settled
civilization "Indus valley " .The languages of Sindh and Punjab
were originally influenced by the old Dravidian phonetics and words and
later by Aryan [Sanskrit, Prakritic]. Later Persian and Arabic scripts and
words were used. Sir Bartle Frere the Commissioner of Sindh, under the
initiative of Sir Richard Burton, an orientalist, and with the help of local
scholars Munshi Thanwardas and Mirza Sadiq Ali Baig, evolved a 52 - letter
Sindhi alphabet that is still in vogue today. Punjabi never became the official language in Punjab even in
the days of Ranjit Singh. Sikh scholars did all their work in Persian. The
last twenty years of Sikh rule [called Sikha Shahi] after Ranjit Singh saw
anarchy let loose in Punjab. It prompted Ranjit Singh’s wife "Rani
Jindan", after seeing their ruling family killed, to invite the British
to take over. The majority of the people of Punjab welcomed the British;
such was the shattered social condition. These events led the Punjabi poets
to write about the anarchy, rebellion, and other issues [mocking clergy] in
their verses. [The Punjab was later to become the chief source of soldier
stock [cannon fodder] who fought under the British Armies in the Second
World War. There are villages in Chakwal that have the highest number of
Victoria Crosses. Apart from Buddha and other great spiritual leaders of the
south Asian diaspora, there have been some Sufi saints and poets whose
writings are alive with the themes of love, peace, reflection, generosity
and faith in simple peasant metaphors. Today common people flock to the
shrines of these Sufi Mystics - Baba Farid Shakar Ganj of Pakpattan, Bulleh
Shah at Kasur, Khwaja Nizamuddin in Delhi, Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer,
Saleem Chishti at Fatehpur Sikri, Sachal Sarmast in Daraaz, Khairpur in
Sindh, Shah Abdul Lateef Bhitai in Sindh. Their Kafis, Dohras have been kept alive in the hearts and
souls of the common south Asian people both in cities and in villages. The
songs by many a village singer, minstrel at the shrines of these saints and
by some of the contemporary singers such as Late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,
Reshma, Junoon group, Abida Parveen, Jiji Zarina Baloch in Pakistan and
Wajdali brothers in India have preserved, extended and mass promoted the
messages of some of these South Asian Saints /Sufis and Poets in popular
form. What follows below are small essays & quotes from some
of these Sufi Poets and mystics from the South Asian lands. They do not
discuss annihilation or division between peoples. Their talk is of life
after death, and the liberation of the soul and how to live in the present,
following the rhythms and cycles of birth, love, rebellion, growth, nurture,
maturity and human evolution. Because they lived amidst great social
upheaval and unrest, especially later during the fall of the Mughal Empire,
their writings questioned and rebelled against the established institutions
of the maulvi [priest/clergy] and social norms. The Lahore [left bank of Ravi] Sufi Intellectuals The decline of the Ghaznavids and the rise of the Ghurids in the Lahore
region led many scholars to migrate there. Among the notable leading
intellects & scholars, famous for their translation of works from
Arabic, Persian and Hindi / Sanskrit were: 1. Sheikh Ali Hujweri -[AD 1074] also known as Hazrat Data Ganj Baksh
came from Ghazni, wrote a famous book "Kashf-ul-Mahjub" - still
published. His shrine is alive with worshippers who come to lay flower
wreaths on his grave; near the old city [Bhatti Gate] Lahore, half a mile
west of Government College. 2. Masud Saad Salman- [AD 1121] wrote 3 Diwans in Arabic, Persian, Hindi
according to Amir Khusro, the famous musical composer. 3. Abu Raihan Albaruni [AD 973-1048] - taught Greek [Unani] Science, and
studied Hindu achievements and wrote a magnus opus " Kitab-al
Hind". 4. Abul Farj Runi -a poet, born and educated in Lahore [Runi is a village
near Lahore]. 5. Sultan Sakhi Sarwar an eminent saint; a Hindu tribe in Punjab is known
after his name Sultan.
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