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  1. Home
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  3. Sufi Saints and State Power
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
October 2009
Print publication year:
1992
Online ISBN:
9780511563201
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563201
Subjects:
Area Studies, South Asian History, Asian Studies, History, Regional History after 1500
Series:
Cambridge South Asian Studies (50)
Information

Book description

In this book, Dr Sarah Ansari examines the system of political control constructed by the British in Sind between 1843 and 1947. In particular, she explores the part of the local Muslim elite, the pirs or hereditary sufi saints. Using a wealth of historical material and in depth interviews, the author looks at the development of the institution of the pir, its power base and the mechanics of the system of control into which the pirs were drawn. The overall success of the political system depended on the willingness of the elite to participate and Dr Ansari argues that it did indeed work 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.

Reviews

"Overall, scholars will find much in Ansari's work on Sufi saints and state power in Sind to incorporate into larger theoretical frameworks about imperialism or the history of South Asia." Michael H. Fisher, American Historical Review

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