Celebrating the Sufi saint: Devotees throng Bhit Shah undeterred by security threats

Security tightened as massive crowd gathers to attend urs of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai

HYDERABAD: Undeterred by security woes, thousands of devotees congregated in the small town of Bhit Shah to mark the 273rd urs of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai. Amid devotion, festivity, literary events and music, the three-day urs officially began on Tuesday after a formal inauguration by Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro.

On Monday, the shrine's 13th sajjada nasheen (caretaker), Syed Waqar Hussain Shah, performed the spiritual commencement of the urs. "We believe that by spreading the message of this great Sufi poet in the world, humanity can defeat the tendencies of extremism, terrorism and other social ills," said Shoro.

It's an injustice to say that Bhitai is a Sufi poet of Sindh alone, said Culture Minister Sardar Ali Shah, who accompanied Shoro. "His philosophy and message are universal."



Shah said that two additions have been made in the three-day event, including a theatre performance based on Bhitai's poem and a statue of Bhitai being erected on the bank of the Karar Lake.

As the devotees thronged the town, security measures were tightened. Around 2,000 policemen, besides Rangers personnel, were deployed. The police also monitored activity in the town as well as the shrine with the help of 25 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. Six walk-through gates were installed at the two entrance gates of the shrine while seven others were placed at other buildings including the conference hall and auditorium, said Matiari SSP Malik Zafar Iqbal.

Private vehicles were not allowed entry up to a kilometre away from the shrine. Only official vehicles and those with special passes were allowed to move within the town but they too were not given access to the shrine.

The shrine's vast uncovered courtyard brimmed with groups of people who, every year, come from various parts of the country and stay at the shrine during the days of urs. Stalls selling souvenirs, handicrafts, dried fruit and confectioneries covering over a half kilometre of the road leading up to the shrine have also sprung up for the event.

Conference

The Shah Latif Aalmi Tasawwuf Conference, organised inside the shrine on Monday by the Pakistan Mashaikh Ittehad Council, demanded the immediate reopening of the Shah Noorani shrine. The shrine has been closed for visitors after a terrorist attack on Thursday.



The resolutions passed on the occasion called for teaching Sufism at primary school levels and action against immoral activities and rituals taking place at the shrines, which are contrary to Islamic tenets. The conference recommended that custodians of the shrines should be made part of the Auqaf Department-led supervision of their respective shrines and that the revenue collected through donations at the shrines should be spent after consultation with the custodians.

Arranging international Mashaikh conferences during urs celebrations at important shrines, appointment of a scholar of mysticism at the Sufi University in Bhit Shah and the reopening of Lowari Sharif shrine in Badin were other demands put forward by the council.

State minister and chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme, Marvi Memon, Sindh chief minister's Auqaf adviser, Syed Ghulam Shah Jilani, caretaker of Bhitai's shrine, Syed Waqar Hussain Shah, and custodians of many other shrines also attended the conference.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2016.