THATTA, Feb 13: Hundreds of disciples of Sufism, devotees and simple fair goers from within the country and without have poured into the tiny town of Jhoke Sharif to participate in the 300th Urs of warrior saint and classical Sufi poet Shah Inayat Shaheed.

The Urs of the 18th century saint is different from those of other saints in its unending and prolonged sessions of Sufi singing held on the premises of the vast shrine for three days and nights, with about 372 groups (Baryoon) of Sufi singers paying homage to the saint. The Urs started on Thursday morning.

The differences of caste, colour and creed vanish at the shrine when Muslims mingle with scheduled caste Hindus who pour from neighbouring India, Dubai, the UK and the USA, echoing Bhajans of Bhagat Kabir and Miran Bai, Wayees of Shah Latif and Kafis of Sachal Sarmast.

Unlike other shrines where the custodians are seldom seen among the ordinary folk, the Sajjada Nasheen of Jhoke Sufi Attaullah Sattari, attired in traditional conical white cap and saffron coloured clothes regularly appears among the devotees and attends major concerts called Mehfil-i-Sama.

Shafi Faqir, Syed Sadiq Ali Shah Sufi Faqir, Sohno Faqir, Karim Faqir, Manzoor Faqir and others enthralled the audience by singing Sufi Kalam of Shah Inayat, Syed Rakhyal Shah, Cheezal Shah and other Sufi poets.

Sufi Sattari said in an interview on the sidelines of the Urs “as the world has been infested with wars, materialism and hypocrisy, a great number of people are increasingly finding solace in Sufism”.

The so-called religious extremism had tarnished the image of Islam and today’s politics was nothing but an attempt to achieve one’s personal goals at the cost of interests of common man, he remarked. He said that great Sufi mystic, Mansoor Hallaj’s visit to Sindh radicalised local Sufis for centuries to come. Sufi Shah Inayat dealt with spiritual themes of love and hope and composed verses in praise of saints and selfless devotees in search of God, he said.

He said disclosed that the new era in Sindhi poetry heralded by Shah Inayat soon found its greatest exponent in Shah Abdul Latif (1689-1752) who was in his 20s or younger when Shah Inayat died.

ADABI CONFERENCE: Renowned intellectuals, poets and writers have called upon President Asif Ali Zardari to officially announce the Urs of the warrior Sufi Shah Inayat Shaheed as national holiday.

The speakers including Maryam Majidi, Aijaz Ali Khwaja, Prof Mohammad Ali Manjhi, Sufi Huzoor Bux, Taj Joyo and Obhayo Khushik said at Shah Inayat Shaheed Adabi conference held at the press club here on Friday that Shah Inayat preached socialism 200 years before Marx and Lenin and fought for the poor peasants at Miranpur.

In Miranpur, Shah Inayat organised peasants and introduced collective farming, which greatly irked Kalhora land owners who sought help of Delhi to bring peasants under control.

In the ensuing battle 24,000 peasants were martyred and Sufi Inayatullah was sentenced to death, they said.