Forgotten Tipu of Madariya Sufi Order

An Unsung and Forgotten Tipu of  Pro-Ahle-Bait Madariya Sufi Order

By Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

What a tragic and unfortunate paradox? This is how only the grave injustice meted out to Tipu Shah by historians can be summed up. His role as a crusader against the British is not inferior to Tipu Sultan, the Lion of Mysore, in anyway. But he remains an unsung hero even today while Tipu Sultan is a household name in India. While shrine of Tipu Sultan at Srirangpattam in Karnataka draws large crowd of devotees and tourists, nobody knows as to where Tipu Shah lies buried. Tipu Sultan, of course, deserves the prestige and praise that he occupies in the hearts of Indians for his exemplary bravery and martyrdom. Historians have rightly given him his due place in their works but they have utterly neglected Tipu Shah. The reason is common tendency found among the historians to glorify rulers and ignore the contribution of an ordinary man to even one of the noblest causes. The difference between the background of Tipu Sultan and Tipu Shah substantiates the allegations leveled against the historians for their partisan attitude.

Tipu Shah was not a ruler like Lion of Mysore. He was simply a Fakir belonging to Madariya Sufi order. Yet he opposed the British from 1813 to 1833 as the undisputed leader of ‘Pagal Panthi’ movement started by his own father Karim Shah. He spent last 19 years of his life in prison following his arrest and subsequent trial. So powerful and influential was his leadership that even after his death in 1852, his movement remained unabated under the command of Janku and Dobraj Pathor. The Pagal Panthi was a religious movement that emerged in the province of Bengal in late 18th century ,especially in Sharper and Mymansingh( Now in Bangladesh) areas. The movement gained popularity under the leadership of Karim shah who was a follower of Madariya order which is famous for its leaning towards ‘Panjatan’i.e. Prophet Muhammad, Hazrat Ali, Bibi Fatima and Imam Hasan and Husain. Shahid-E-Salis (The third Martyr) Qazi Nurullah Shustri   has described founder of the order Hazrat Badi Uddin Zinda Shah Madar as a direct descendent of Imam Jafar Sadiq Allahessalam in one of his books.