Muslim Saints of South Asia: The eleventh to ... - blog blog blog

THE WARRIOR SAINTS
It is superfluous to observe that such types of rituals ran counter
to the prevalent Muslim practice of the veneration of saints, which
rules out dramatization or anything erotic, including a nuptial aspect.
The fact that the features of ‘obstinate’ youngster and bridegroom
became manifest in the image of the warrior saint is undoubtedly
indicative of the Indian influence, in particular, the Vaishnawa cult.
It is not unlikely that in the hypostasis of obstinate youngster Ghazi
Miyan’s image became united with the traits of Lord Krishna and as
a warrior and heroic husband he was identified with Lord Rama,
whose birthplace and cult centre were in the very neighbourhood of
Ayodhya, which was close to Bahraich.
The main ritual of Ghazi Miyan’s cult – the veneration of his ‘alam
(banner) – is the so-called ‘fact of twin motivation’. The veneration
of a military banner and processions with flags and spears, which
became a part of the saint’s cult no later than the fourteenth century,
are typical also for Shi‘a mourning rites in the month of Muh˝arram,
which became widespread in the neighbouring districts of Faizabad
and Lucknow in the eighteenth century. Obviously, the rituals of the
saint’s ‘urs had a direct effect on the formation of the ritual practices
of the Shi‘a of Awadh. However, a procession of pilgrims with
multicoloured flags, and also the veneration of jhandā (banner), is a
constituent part of many indigenous Indian rituals, pertaining even
to the pre-Islamic epoch (for example, the pūjā of God Indra’s banner
or staff).
Representatives of normative Islam clearly realized the ‘pagan’
substratum of Ghazi Miyan’s cult. It has already been mentioned
that certain rulers had forbidden the celebration of his ‘urs on account
of the elements of nuptial eroticism in the saint’s veneration ritual.
In the nineteenth century veneration of Ghazi Miyan by Hindus
provoked ironic bewilderment amongst Englishmen. The British
Resident in Awadh, William Sleeman, wrote: ‘Strange to say, Hindoos
as well as Mahommedans make offerings to this shrine, and implore
the favours of this military ruffian, whose only recorded merit
consists of having sent a great many Hindoos to hell, in a wanton and
unprovoked invasion of their territory’ (Sleeman 1971: 69).
The saint’s authority did not wane with the passage of time,
however. Even in the eighteenth century the great Punjabi Sufi poet,
Warith Shah, names him among the legendary group of the most
venerated saints – the Five Pīrs. Neither Naqshbandiyya reaction,
nor Puritanim of the Wahhabis, nor reformists’ criticism could undermine
the foundations of the saint’s cult. Those who could not reach
Bahraich celebrated Ghazi Miyan’s ‘urs at his fellow-fighters’ tombs
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