Dargāh of Shaykh Kamāl al-Dīn

The Dargāh of Kamāl al-Dīn Chishtī is a tomb located within a walled enclosure with several other tombs in the centre of old Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. Shaykh Kamāl Mālvī or Kamāl al-Dīn arrived in Malwa in the late 13th century and died there in 1331. He was a follower of Farīd al-Dīn Gaṅj-i Shakar (circa 1173–1266 ) and the Chishti saint Nizamuddin Auliya (1238–1325). Some details about Kamāl al-Dīn are recorded in Muḥammad Ghauthi's Azkar-i Abrar, a hagiography of Sufi saints written in 1613. The cloak presented to Kamāl al-Dīn by Nizam al-Dīn is still displayed inside the tomb. The custodians of the tomb, Kamāl al-Dīn's direct descendants, have served continuously for 700 years.

Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. Dargāh of Kamāl al-Dīn Chishtī, as photographed in 1912 by Vernon & Company (Bombay) at the time of Viceroy Lord Hardinge's visit to Dhar.

Architecture

The original tomb from the 14th century was supplemented by the Sultans of Malwa in the 15th century, at which time a surrounding wall and gatehouse were added. Inside the gatehouse under the dome is a long Persian language inscription, according to which the shrine was enlarged to accommodate poor and needy pilgrims and pious men in AH 861 (1456-57 CE). The shrine proper was refurbished in the 20th century.

Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. Gatehouse to the Dargāh precinct, built in 1456–57, as documented 2010.

History

The economic and social histories of the Dargāh are told by a series of documents daing from the 17th century to the 20th. These have been digitized in a project carried out under the auspices of the French Institute of Pondicherry, funded by the Endangered Archives Programme at the British Library. All the documents are visible online.

Royal order from Rānī Sakwār Bāī of the Pawār dynasty at Dhār issued to ‘Abd al-Ghanī Chishtī in 1753. The order reaffirms the Dargāh's ancient holdings of gifted land.