Zareeh Mubarak Of Imam Hussain at Khairpur
Dr.Mazhar Naqvi
The contribution of Talpur dynasty to propagation of the message of Imam
Hussain has not been acknowledged. The efforts made by successive Talpur rulers
seem to be a forgotten page of history when compared to the awareness about the
similar contribution made by their well-known counterparts of Awadh and
Qutbshahi kingdoms. Talpur as dynasty has flourished in the latter half of 18th
century in Sindh province of Pakistan. Its first ruler Mir Fateh Ali Khan
constructed the first replica of Imam Hussain’s shrine at Karbala in Iraq. The
first Zareeh or Shabeeh(replica) was
placed in Tondo Agha area of Hyderabad(Sindh).Another Zareeh found place in
Tondo Noor Mohammad.Both these Zareeehs were made of Gold. The third Zareeh was
placed in Tondo Mir Mohammad in Hyderabad and it was made of wood.
The sole objective of Talpur rulers to initiate the installation of holy
replicas of Imam Hussain’s shrine was to enable poor people to have a glimpse
and idea about the original shrine of Imam Hussain. Initially, very few people
used to turn up to have a glimpse of these replicas but their numbers swelled
to thousands in days to come. The increase in their numbers resulted in the
construction of similar replicas in other parts of Sindh. Apart from replica of
Imam Hussain’s majestic mausoleum, replicas of Imam Ali and Imam Raza at Najaf
and Mashhad were also commissioned. These shrines served two purposes. The
first, they represented the original mausoleums of holy Imams in Iraq and Iran
for the locals and second they were used by scholars to deliver lectures on the
philosophy of the Holy Prophet and his Ahle-Bait.
The last ruler of Talpur Mir Murad Ali even sent two masons to Karbala
in 1953 to see the original shrine of Imam Hussain. On their return, the ruler
asked them to imitate the original shrine at Khairpur. These masons erected a
replica flanked by two minarets resembling what they had witnessed at Karbala.
Some of Zareehs commissioned during the rule of Talpur dynasty were displayed
as part of Muharram processions. Till British period, poets used to recite
their Kalam(Poetry) at these shrines but the tradition is no longer as popular
as it used to be during the reign of Talpur dynasty. However, there is no
dearth of poets in Sindh who still compose poetry on the tragedy of Karbala but
they don’t recite them at the shrines like their predecessors. Like the tradition,
awareness about Talpur rulers and their contribution to development of shrines associated
with Imami faith has also nosedived with the passage of time. They are not as
popular as Muhammad Quli Kutb Shah or Nawab Asafuddaula-builders of World
famous Badshahi Ashurkhana (Hyderabad-India) and Bara Imambara (Lucknow)
respectively.(References available on request.Photo Courtesy Google Images)
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