Beshara, Bashara

TH Culture Desk, "From the blurb" - The Hindu - Chennai, India
Tuesday, November 25, 2008

This is a comparative study of two Sufi shrines, Abu Bakr (in Delhi) and Bu Ali (in Panipat), which are affiliated to an antinomian order known as the Qalandar.

Antinomian groups do not follow the Islamic tenets as enshrined in the Shariat and hence they are called Beshara (‘without law’).

Sufi orders following the Shariat are known as Bashara (‘with law’).

This study shows that the theoretical distinction made between Bashara and Beshara is blurred in reality.

Social life in these shrines is similar to that of the Chishti (and other Bashara) shrines.

Kumkum Srivastava

The Wandering Sufis — Qalandars and Their Path
Indra Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal & Aryan Books International, Pooja Apartments, 4B, Ansari Road, New Delhi-110002
Rs. 1250
ISBN Number: 8173053618 / 9788173053610