Ajmer Sharif: abode of peace

Before Muslim armies invaded Sindh and northern India, Arab traders had brought Islam to the Malabar Coast, built mosques, married local women and made their homes in India: the word, noplah, meaning son-in-law, is derived from them. Their presence was not resented by the Malabaris.

The story was different in the north. The invaders had to fight their way through Punjab, Delhi and beyond and roused the hostility of the populace, which castigated them as malechs — unclean — and refused to mingle with them. The invaders did not speak their language but Arabic, Turkish, Pushto or Persian. Fortunately, for them, with the invaders came some families of ascetics fleeing persecution in their homelands. They set up khangahs (abodes) away from places of rulers and mansions of the nobility (umrah). They welcomed locals, learnt to speak their lingo and preached peace and love. They were known as the Sufis, from soof, meaning wool, because they wore clothes made of coarse wool against their skins. They were divided into different orders (silsilas) of which 12 are clearly identifiable. The most popular were the Chistis (from Chist in Afghanistan). The most prominent amongst them was Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti of Ajmer (d.1236 AD) and Hazrat Nizamuddin of Delhi (d. 1324 AD).

The Chistis kept a respectable distance from the Sultans and the Omrahs. They indulged in practices not approved by the orthodox ulema (scholars), who advised the rulers in matters of law and administration of justice. In Sufi dargahs, there were singing of qawalis, dancing in ecstacy, and langars (community kitchen), where the rich and the poor of all castes ate together. The Sultans and the Omrahs often came to the dargahs to pay homage; Sufis (except for the Suhrawardis) disdained from returning their visits. But even the Chistis avoided direct confrontation with the authorities.

A few quotations will convey the spirit that inspired them. Hasan of Basra (728 AD), who is said to have been the first Sufi in India, said: “The world is a snake — smooth to touch but its venom is deadly.” Rabia (801 AD), known as the earliest woman Sufi, explained the purpose of prayer: “Oh my God! If I worship Thee for fear of hell, burn me in hell, and if I pray for seeking paradise, exclude me from it. But if I worship Thee for Thine own sake, then withhold not Thine eternal beauty.”

The saga of the Sufis makes fascinating reading. The latest edition is Fatima Hussain’s The War That Wasn’t: The Sufi and the Sultan. Hussain is a product of Lady Shri Ram College and JNU. She is currently professor at Delhi University. The book was her doctoral thesis. Like most academic works it is packed with details and names of individuals which often impedes the flow of her narrative. Nevertheless, it is an important work, which students of Hindu-Muslim relations through history will find invaluable.

Give with joy

This is a truly amazing success story of a man of moderate means becoming a multi-millionaire who generously gives away his earnings to propagate his faith. Ishar Singh Bindra was born and brought up in the town of Kallar, now in west Pakistan. He was trained to be an engineer. He migrated to the United States of America at the age of 59. He could not find a job as an engineer and became a small-time dealer in readymade garments. He could not afford to rent a shop; so he bought kiosks in the flea market of New York to sell his wares. He felt he could do better in the import-export business. And so he did. His business expanded upto $50 million a year. He and his family moved to a large mansion with a sizeable rose garden on Long Island.

But that was not good enough for him. He wanted to spread knowledge of his faith in foreign lands. He donated millions of dollars to Hofstra University of New York to select an individual who had promoted inter-faith understanding in the world. Two years ago, the recipient of the honour was His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This year, it was given to Rabbi Arthur Schneier. The Bindras have further decided to finance Chairs in Sikh Studies in different universities in the name of Kuljit Kaur, wife of I.S. Bindra. Ishar Singh is almost 90 years old. The business and the charitable trust are now being looked after by the eldest son, T.J. Bindra.

A significant advisory role has been played by Tarlochan Singh, a member of Rajya Sabha. He is perhaps the only enlightened voice among the Sikhs today who keeps warning his community of the danger of listening to pig-headed bigots who are worse than the Taliban. He has released a pictorial album of Bindra’s family history — A Journey from Kallar to New York.

Golden silence

A woman goes to the doctor, beaten up black and blue.

Doctor: “What happened?”

Woman: “Doctor, I don’t know what to do every time my husband comes home drunk and beats me to a pulp.”

Doctor: “I have a real good medicine against that. When your husband comes home drunk, just take a glass of green tea and start swirling it in your mouth. Don’t drink it, just swirl it round and round.”

Two weeks later, she comes back to the doctor and looks reborn and fresh again.

Woman: “Doc, that was a brilliant idea! Every time my husband came home drunk, I gargled repeatedly with green tea and he never touched me.”

Doctor: “You see, how keeping your mouth shut is such a good idea!”

(Contributed by Vipin Buckshey, Delhi)