Though most people in the northern regions of the subcontinent are appreciative and conscious of the Sufic literary input, there is a tendency to concentrate on the famous figures of northern Hindustan.

One immediately thinks of the iconic personalities of Delhi, Ajmer, Punjab and Sindh. There is little mention of Sufi activity in the Deccan and the southern parts of the peninsula.

There has been a certain distancing, not only because of the sheer gap in terms of mileage but, more importantly, because of attitudes. Most Hindus, for example, think that though the north was 'Islamicised' to some extent, the south was untouched by Islamic thought and practise. Surprisingly, most Muslims too carry the same cultural baggage.

For example, till recently it was believed that the first mosque on Indian soil was built by Mohammed bin Qasim at Daibal.

However, some Muslims in Kerala now claim that there was a mosque in Kerala much before the one at Daibal.
It was built, they say, not by Arab conquerors but by Arab traders who were there, going about their business in accordance with the rules of the local rajah.

The first sultanate of south India was that of the Bahmanis, founded in 1347 by one Hasan Gangu who some say named his dynasty after his first patron, a Brahmin named Gangu. Others state that Hasan Gangu claimed descent from an ancient Persian monarch called Bahman and hence the name of his dynasty.

The Bahmani sultanate fragmented into a number of sultanates the most important of which was Bijapur.

Founded in 1490 by Yusuf Adil Shah (hence the Adil Shahi dynasty) the sultanate became a prosperous and well governed state. Foreign travellers who visited Bijapur, the capital city, were struck by the neatly laid out streets and excellent water supply. (Fortunate Bijapuris! Most cities in South Asia even today do not have a decent water supply).

There were hospitals, mosques and schools and the shops and markets were bustling with buyers and sellers.
There was no credit crunch. Agriculture, arts and crafts flourished. Some of the architecture was magnificent. Bijapur, now in the Indian state of Karnataka, was a fine example of Muslim urban culture.

Much of this sense of well being was, in large measure, due to the influence of the Sufis who had penetrated into the Deccan much before the establishment of the southern sultanates. It is believed that the Sufi Sarmast came from Arabia in the 13th century and settled there with a few of his murids. Later, others followed. Some were warriors, others social reformers and still others scholars, writers and poets.

However, it is the Sufis of Bijapur in particular that concern us here. Richard Maxwell Eaton, an American academic, in his book Sufis of Bijapur (Princeton University Press) has provided a balanced account of their activities and achievements.

Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1580-1627) came to the throne when Burhan al-Din Janam (son of Miranji Shams al-Ushshaq) was the head of the Chishti order and a leading mystic who attracted followers from all over the subcontinent. His khanaqah on a small hill called Shahpur became famous. Janam's son Amin al-Din A'la took over after his father's demise.

The Chishtis steered clear of all Shia-Sunni controversies and kept well away from the ulema. Sufis of the Shattari and Qadiri orders also clustered in and around Bijapur.

Janam's vast scholarship encompassed not only Islamic history and theology but Hindu thought as well. Realising that Dakhni (an amalgam of Perso-Arabic, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada and Punjabi from the Lahore-Gujarat region) had emerged as the lingua franca of the Deccan, he wrote in that language though retaining the Perso-Arabic script.
It was he and the Sultan who forged Dakhani into a medium of literary expression. And thus Dakhni preceded Urdu though the latter took from other sources such as Delhi's khari-boli, Braj, Avadhi and Bhojpuri.

Janam's output was enormous. He wrote technical treatises on Sufism in Persian and for the populace, both Muslim and non-Muslim, he wrote poetry in Dakhni.

Annemarie Schimmel has commented 'Since for centuries poetry was practically the only vehicle for influencing the illiterate masses — who have had and still have an incredibly good memory for verse — the importance of these (Sufi) poems cannot be overrated.

'Poetry was the daily bread for millions of people who formed their Weltbild (worldview) according to the picture presented to them by the poets.'

How appropriate in this case. The chakki-nama was sung by village women while grinding flour at the chakki (grindstone).

Similarly, other Sufi poets composed charkha-nama (sung while working at the spinning wheel), lori-nama (lullabies for infants), shadi-nama (wedding songs) and suhagan-nama (married women's songs). As a subtext they all carried the message of Sufism.

Ibrahim Adil Shah II was a junior contemporary of Akbar and both had a similar vision. The difference lay in the fact that Akbar was unlettered whereas the Bijapur monarch was highly literate. Moreover, he was a poet-musician.

His magnum opus, Kitab-i-Nauras, was written in Sanskritised Dakhni and contained a collection of his songs with a learned commentary on the nine basic sentiments that are the foundation of all Hindu art.

Poets, painters, architects, historians, musicians and dancers flocked to his court as did Sufis and theologians of various persuasions. Several portraits of him are extant. They reveal a man of strength as well as sensitivity.

Among those who adorned the Bijapur court were the historians Muhammad Qasim Firishta, author of the celebrated Tarikh-i-Firishta, and Rafi al-Din Shirazi; the poets Nur al-Din Muhammad Zuhuri and Maulana Malik Qumi; the architects Shahnawaz Khan and Malik Sandal; and the painter Farrukh Husain.

When Ibrahim was a minor the regent was none other than Chand Sultana, better known as Chand Bibi. A most remarkable woman, she was a musician and painter, and regularly indulged in her favourite sports of hunting and hawking. She spoke Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Marathi and Kannada.

Later, as regent of Ahmednagar, she rode to battle against the Mughal army sent by Akbar to subjugate Ahmednagar. When he came of age Ibrahim's mentor was none other than Hazrat Banda Nawaz, a famous Sufi.

His government was just and the legal system, administration and revenue collection efficient. Many Maharashtrian Hindus held important positions and the king even granted endowments for a temple near Pune. He also permitted the Jesuits to set up mission stations within his realm.

One of his coins had on it a Sanskrit term which hailed him as a 'friend of the weak'. His list of titles included Jagat-guru Badshah.

It is no wonder that the French traveller Francois Pyrard wrote in 1604 'He is an amiable and peaceful prince — no tyrant, but friend of all foreigners, and of all neighbours that are at peace with him.'

It is worth recalling that at a time when the inhabitants of Bijapur under the benevolent Ibrahim were enjoying the fruits of peace, communal understanding and tranquillity, there was Catholic-Protestant animosity all over Europe.

In England itself people were being burnt at the stake because of their religious beliefs. In 1649 King Charles I who had lost the civil war was executed publicly in front of Whitehall.
 
Reginald Massey was born in Lahore. He has authored several works on various subjects related to the subcontinent.