THE ROLE SAJJADAH NISHEENS IN THE POLITICS OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

Sajjadah Nisheens (custodians) of saintly shrines playa pervaswe role in the ' - .~, .. ~ ':'-' .;~:;"::~!<' politics of Pakistan. This study presents the case of Sajjadah Nishe' ' s of the Su rCl',f;:V:ardi ~:~~ p ~ ~ ":, . ;f:J 1'--.\," " ~ . silsila of Multan with reference to such role. It takes a departure m~J~4{" s cla.m~;ng '\ ,.. ~l:r that Sajjadah Nisheens benefited from British rulers for loyalty "tlt( th,~~' fC;~~~CiI!~that loyalty when Pakistan became a distinct possibility and, within Pakistan, a ways tried to keep themselves on the winning side. Such views seem to be partial and perfunctory, and do not indicate any worthwhile approach to a systematic study of the problem. For a proper understanding of the role of Multan Sajjadah Nisheens, two important factors seem to define the context. First, the early Multan Suhrawardi tradition in politics based on the principles and practices of tasawwuf in Islam, and attenuation of such tradition owing to depletion of Suhrawardi leadership as well as rise of other Sufi silsilahs. The depletion occurred as a result of dispersal of Multan Suhrawardis/Qureshis in the 15th century and, later, during Sikh invasions and misrule in the 19th century. (The latter made the British rule seem attractive to many Muslims in Multan). The second factor relates to centralization and personalization of power in the conduct of the country's politics irrespective of the nature of various regimes i.e. whether democratic or dictatorial. The malfunctioning of the politico-bureaucratic institutions tended to create uncertainty and, the consequent, propensity among politicians to change loyalties for political survival as well as retention/enhancement of influences among local bureaucracy. In studying the political role o ( S(~jj a..qafi - " ". isheens, we view politics in terms of certain moral-institutional framework. That is, we study Sajjadah Nisheens ' role in defining the nat ion's va lues/ideology co ntained in Pakistan 's const itution, and the role played in manning the vital in stituti ons, namely, the legislat ive, executive and judicial organs at all levels of the federal setup. While Multan Sajjadah Nisheens' role in articu lat ing/promoting societal va lues seems, at best, ambiguous, their role in manning offices of authority seems active. An important aspect of centrali zation of power has been the control of saintly shrines and trust properties attached to them. Such control in the case of Multan Suhrawardi shrines occasioned the participation of heads of state, heads of federal and provincial governments and other hi ghl y-p laced dignitaries in the annual urs celebrations including 'ghusal ' (co llective washing of the shrines of the Multan Suhraward i saints). Thi s, unintended ly, has tended to enhancelreassert the status of Sajjadah Nisheens in the eyes of their murids (d isc iples) as well as provide occas ion for coming together of large gathering of people and hi ghl y-p laced government functionaries.