SUFI SAINTS AND STATE POWER pdf download

Sufi Saints and State Power – The Pirs of Sind, 1843 1947, by Sarah Ansari

SUFI SAINTS AND STATE POWER

Dr. Sarah Ansari investigates the British system of political power in Sind between 1843 and 1947 in this work. She focuses on the role of the pirs, or hereditary sufi saints, among the local Muslim aristocracy.

 The author examines the evolution of the pir institution, its power base, and the mechanics of the control system into which the pirs were lured, using a plethora of historical information and in-depth interviews.

 The willingness of the elite to participate in the political system was critical to its overall success, according to Dr. Ansari, and it worked in Sind.

This enabled the British to govern while allowing the pirs to adapt to colonial rule, and later independence, without serious damage to their interests. The author demonstrates that only in the heightened nationalist atmosphere of the 1940s did the system break down.