The Irony of Vandalizing Bulleh Shah’s Shrine

‘Masjid dha de, mandir dha de, dha de jo kujh dhainda. Par kisi da dil na dhavin, Rabb dilan vich rehnda’ (Break down the mosque, break down the temple, break down everything that can be broken, but do not break a human heart, for that is where God resides).’ This couplet from the 17^th-century Panjabi Sufi poet Bulleh Shah echoes true today amidst the tides of rising hate, religious polarization, and a general fragmentation of society. Ironically, the late Sufi poet’s shrine was vandalized at Mussoorie, Uttarakhand by miscreants claiming to be from Hindu Raksha Dal. Born in 1680 in Kasur in present-day Pakistan, Shah’s real name was Abdullah Shah. Scholars trace his birth to the Pandoke Bhatian village in Panjab, Pakistan where his father, Shah Mohammed Dervish, worked as a teacher. An upper-caste Syed man, the parish preacher was well-versed in Arabic, Persian, and the Quran. Despite the increasingly intolerant Mughal rule, Sufism flourished in the 17^th and 18^th century Panjab largely due to the Qadri order, and its fondness for vernacular devotional poetry like the kafi. Bulleh Shah’s family, owing to their exalted Syed lineage, opposed his decision to take Shah Inayat Qadri as his teacher. Only his sister, who also chose to remain single like him, supported him. Lore has it that Shah met Qadri when he was tending vegetables in Lahore and asked him about the path to enlightenment. Qadri replied, ‘Bulleya, rab da ki pauna, itho putna uthe laana.’ (O Bulleh, seeking God is simple, it’s just a shift of consciousness from worldly to spiritual). While acts of shrine vandalism (from faiths other than Hinduism) are on rise in India, in Pakistan’s Panjab, the centuries-old Loh Temple, the Sikh-era hammam (bath) and the Athdara pavilion at Lahore’s historic Shahi Qila were formally opened to the public. Local tradition links the site to Loh, the son of Hindu God Ram. Located at the foothills of the fort, the Loh Temple was uncovered in recent years and later underwent detailed excavation, research, and preservation. Conservation efforts also covered the hammam and the Athdara, where Maharaja Ranjit Singh once held court. The pavilion was originally built during Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s reign and later converted into a hammam during the Sikh period.