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Saved by the Saint: Refusing and Reversing Partition in Muslim North India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2009

Anna Bigelow
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Abstract

Although Punjab experienced serious violence during the 1947 partition, no one died in Malerkotla. This peace at partition is central to the collective identity of the town, founded in 1454 by a Sufi saint. Focusing on the power of the saint, his tomb shrine, and his multireligious cult, this study demonstrates how Malerkotla's idealized reputation is produced and perpetuated. Through ritual exchanges and oral and written accounts, residents and pilgrims integrate the partition experience into the history of the saint and his town, so that this moment comes to symbolize Malerkotla's pacific civic identity.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , May 2009 , pp. 435 - 464
Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 2009

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