Nizamuddin shrine and popular visual culture

The shrine of Chishti saint Nizamuddin Aulia (d. 1325) is one of the most popular Muslim pilgrimage centres in South Asia, attracting thousands of pilgrims of many faiths from all over India and abroad. The Sufi order to which Nizamuddin Aulia belonged was brought to India by Saint Moinuddin (b.1140) from Chisht, a small town near Herat (Afghanistan) to Ajmer, Rajasthan, and spread in turn by his disciples all over south Asia. Nizamuddin Aulia and his hospice had a great following of devotees in his lifetime, which was even considered a competition to the popularity of his contemporary king Alauddin Khalji – the two were always at odds with each other. The popularity of his shrine continued without break, devotees often considering Nizamuddin to be the real Sultan or ruler of India even after his death.

Being in the heart of Delhi, his shrine is also visited today by a large number of tourists looking for a characteristic Indo-Muslim past of Delhi, especially those visiting the nearby Humayun’s tomb and Lodhi gardens, some of Delhi’s more famous landmarks. Most tour guides and tourist websites do not fail to mention the dargah of Nizamuddin as an important monument to see in Delhi. The immediate vicinity of the shrine also has a couple of important historical buildings such as Chausath khamba (lit. 64-pillars), Kalan masjid, and the tomb of Urdu language’s most famous poet, Mirza Ghalib, among others. Many local residents say that even though Delhi has tombs of many great kings and rulers, they are all deserted (or seen as relics) while the tomb of Nizamuddin is a living place - always crowded with devotees. This is despite the fact that most of other touristy monuments are always kept neat and clean by the government authorities, while the neighourhood of Nizamuddin is a rather congested, cluttered and grimy place, with a lot of unplanned and illegal construction of houses and shops.

Kumar, Sunil: Assertions of Authority: A Study of the Discursive Statements of Two Sultans of Delhi, in Muzaffar Alam, F.‘Nalini’ Delvoye, Marc Gaborieau (eds.): The Making of Indo-Persian Culture, Indian and French Studies, Manohar, Delhi, 2000 (37-65)

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