Lucknow’s Shiite Influence

Last year, I spent a long weekend in Lucknow. While the cuisine was the main draw, the Shiite influence over the city is unmissable. Large and small Imambaras dot the city and remind us of the relatively short-lived dynasty of the Nawabs that ruled Oudh. (Imambaras, unlike mosques, are not merely prayer spaces but structures that facilitate congregations, especially during Moharram).

The oldest Imambara was built by the second Nawab of Oudh who went by the name of Safdar Jung. If you live in or visit Delhi, it’s unlikely to not come across the name of Safdar Jung. Delhi has an airstrip, a posh enclave, a hospital, and a road, which housed Indira Gandhi’s residence, named after him. And of course, his tomb which I cross daily on my way to my office is also a lesser-visited but majestic monument.

In the 19^th century, Lucknow was a major player and financier of the Shiite shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala in present-day Iraq. While the Safavids in Iran had embraced Shiism, their holiest shrines were under the rule of the Sunni Ottomans. The prominence of the two cities as a pilgrim center made them also important trading outposts.

With both the Middle East and India under the control of Britain, the stage was set for their shenanigans. The Nawab of Oudh had financed the construction of a canal that brought the waters of the Euphrates to the city of Najaf. The canal was named Hindiya signifying the Indian connection. Later in the century, almost 6 million rupees were channeled from Lucknow to the two cities under an instrument called the Oudh Bequest. The background was that the Nawabs had lent vast sums of money to the East India Company with the caveat that the interest payments had to be channeled to specific individuals and the two Shiite shrine cities. (Charging interest is prohibited in Islam, hence the allocation of the money to specific causes). Soon, the British got involved to ensure that they controlled the distribution to maintain their clout in the complex Sunni-Shiite politics of the Middle East. (I had written earlier on this here.). I found just a few accessible pieces on the Oudh Bequest online. Most are academic papers behind a paywall. The Wikipedia entry on this is also quite weak.

In India, the other centers of Shiite presence were in the Deccan – the Qutb Shahis of Golconda, the Adil Shahis of Bijapur, and the others that emerged after the collapse of the Bahmani Kingdom. One reason for the embrace of Shiism by these rulers was to nullify the looming presence of the Sunni Mughals. (The Mughals never really controlled the Deccan. Aurangzeb tried his best and partially succeeded but he died during his campaign. In fact, he left Delhi in 1681, never to return and died in 1707 in Aurangabad, Maharashtra where he lies buried).

Anyways, last month, Iran announced visa-free travel for Indians. Probably a good reason to someday visit and see a bit of the Shiite center that was intricately linked to our own land once upon a time.