The spread of which of the following Sufi sect was mostly limited to Sindh, Multan and Punjab ?

Correct — option (3), Suhrawardi.

Satish Chandra's NCERT textbook Medieval India names two Sufi silsilahs that gained significant influence and following in north India in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries: the Chishti and the Suharwardi.

Of the Suharwardi order he writes that it entered India at about the same time as the Chishtis, but its activities 'were confined largely to the Punjab and Multan'. His Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals says the Suhrawardis 'were active mainly in Punjab and Sindh'.

The same book calls Bahauddin Zakariya the founder of the Suhrawardi silsilah in India, and NCERT's Themes in Indian History shows his dargah at Multan.

Sindh, Multan and Punjab is therefore the home ground of the Suhrawardi order, which makes option (3) the answer.

The idea to remember: Suhrawardi = Bahauddin Zakariya of Multan; Chishti = Muinuddin Chishti of Ajmer.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Qadiri — NCERT's Themes in Indian History explains that most Sufi lineages were named after a founding figure, and gives the Qadiri order as its example: it is named after Shaikh Abd'ul Qadir Jilani.

  The textbooks used here tie Sindh, Multan and Punjab to the Suhrawardis, not to the Qadiris. The Qadiri order is the answer when a stem asks which silsilah takes its name from Abd'ul Qadir Jilani.

• (2)
  Naqshbandi — Satish Chandra's NCERT textbook records that the Naqshbandi school was introduced in India during Akbar's reign, long after the Suhrawardis were established in Multan under the Delhi Sultans.

  It is the answer for the order followed by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, whose ideology NCERT says is often contrasted with Akbar's liberal views. NCERT's Themes links the Naqshbandi with the Mughal state, and the Suhrawardi with the Delhi Sultans.

• (4)
  Chisti — The Chishti order was established in India by Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, who came around 1192 and settled at Ajmer. Satish Chandra places the Chishtis at Delhi and around it, including Rajasthan, parts of Punjab and modern U.P.

  After the mid-fourteenth century, he adds, Chishti saints dispersed to eastern and southern India. That wide spread is the opposite of an order confined to Sindh, Multan and Punjab.

A silsila, NCERT explains, is a chain: a continuous link between master and disciple, stretching back to the Prophet Muhammad. Most lineages were named after a founding figure, such as the Qadiri after Abd'ul Qadir Jilani; some after a place, such as the Chishti after the town of Chisht in central Afghanistan.

Satish Chandra contrasts the two early orders in India. The Suharwardi saints did not believe in a life of poverty and accepted service of the state, some holding posts in the ecclesiastical department.

The Chishtis, on the other hand, kept aloof from state politics and shunned the company of rulers and nobles.

Key facts

• Satish Chandra (NCERT, Medieval India): the Suharwardi order entered India at about the same time as the Chishtis, but was confined largely to the Punjab and Multan.
• Satish Chandra calls Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya the founder of the Suhrawardi silsilah in India; NCERT's Themes in Indian History shows his dargah at Multan.
• In course of time, Satish Chandra notes, the Suharwardis extended their influence in Gujarat, Bengal and Kashmir.
• The Chishti order was established in India by Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, who came around 1192 and finally settled at Ajmer.
• The Naqshbandi school was introduced in India during Akbar's reign; Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi was a follower.

Common traps

• Choosing Chishti because some Chishti saints worked in Punjab, such as Farid-ud-Din at Ajodhan: Satish Chandra places the Chishtis mainly at Delhi and around it, later spreading east and south.
• Reading 'mostly limited' as 'only': Satish Chandra notes that the Suharwardis in course of time extended their influence to Gujarat, Bengal and Kashmir.
• Swapping the two orders tied to the state: NCERT links the Suhrawardi with the Delhi Sultans and the Naqshbandi with the Mughals.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2016 here once that paper is published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya, whose dargah stands at Multan, is regarded as the founder in India of which Sufi silsilah?

  • (a)Chishti
  • (b)Suhrawardi
  • (c)Naqshbandi
  • (d)Qadiri
  Answer(2) — Satish Chandra calls Bahauddin Zakariya the founder of the Suhrawardi silsilah in India. Option (1) was established in India by Muinuddin Chishti; option (3) was introduced during Akbar's reign; option (4) is named after Abd'ul Qadir Jilani.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Consider the following statements: A. The Naqshbandi order was introduced in India during Akbar's reign. B. Unlike the Chishtis, the Suhrawardi saints kept aloof from state service. Choose the correct option:

  • (a)Only A is correct.
  • (b)Only B is correct.
  • (c)Both A and B are correct.
  • (d)Neither A nor B is correct.
  Answer(1) — A is correct, as Satish Chandra records. B is wrong: the Suhrawardi saints accepted service of the state, and it was the Chishtis who kept aloof from state politics. So options (2), (3) and (4) fail.