Evolution and Impact of ‘Deobandi’ Islam in the Punjab

This paper seeks to delineate the process that culminated into the proliferation of Deobandi version of Islam in the Punjab that eventually led to the formulation of terrorist outfits by the closing years of twentieth century. Gradual creeping of Deobandi influence was not in consonance with the composite cultural ethos that was very intrinsic to the Punjab. In the colonial Punjab and even before that, saints and shrines signified ‘symbolic cultural outposts’. In that social and political setting the tribal and kinship identities assumed centrality, thus, complementing the power and influence of the saints. In that context with all its peculiarities, the emergence of the Deobandi exegetes in the Punjab with the sharia oriented interpretation of Islam needs a fresh enquiry. However, before mapping the Deobandi influence on the Punjab through the agency of the ulema and madaris one must take into account the significance of the saint or sajjada nishin as intercessor between them (people) and God. Besides, ‘spiritual excellence’ their political role within the British imperial system would also be examined whereby structures of political power and religious organization forged a close relationship. Thereafter, the main theme of the paper would be addressed--evolution and impact of Deobandi Islam in the Punjab. However, a brief reference to the historical and political antecedents of the Deobandi puritanism would form the part of the narrative. Contrary to the local Islam, centring on the saint or sajjada nishin and shrine or dargah, the Deobandi Islam was disseminated through ulema and madaris. The shift from sajjada nishin and dargah to ulema and madaris brought with it a profound change in the religious outlook at the popular level, culminating in the Lal Masjid like incidents. Deobandis in the contemporary Pakistan constitute the most important Muslim segment which exercises enormous control over the religious seminaries (madaris). Around 65 percent of the madaris belong to this school of thought and “are the most militant in their demands for the Pakistani state to become truly Islamic--as they would define it”. • Chairperson, Department of History, GC University, Lahore