Ghazi Faqir, spiritual leader of Muslim community of Jaisalmer, Barmer passes away; Rajasthan CM pays tribute

The spiritual leader of the Muslim community in the border district of Jaisalmer and Barmer- Ghazi Faqir, 84 passed away in Jodhpur on Tuesday. He was the father of Rajasthan’s Cabinet minister Saleh Mohammed.

Ghazi Faqir, died of prolonged illness in a private hospital. His son, Saleh Mohammed is down with corona and is quarantined in Jaipur. He rushed to attend the burial of his father in Jaisalmer. The last rites were performed with a large number of community people in attendance. The news of his death was also mourned in Pakistan.

Ghazi Faqir is survived by five sons. His brother Fateh Mohammed and two sons Saleh Mohammed and Abdullah Faqir served as the Zila Pramukh of Jaisalmer.

Ghazi Faqir was the head of the Hur community whose head is called Pir Pagaro and is based in the Sindh province of Pakistan.

The Hurs are the main tribe living in the Sindh province and they lived as the subjects of the Hindu ruler of Amarkot, a Hindu kingdom which was later  named Umarkot. The Hurs are a brave and warrior community and gave the British a difficult time. They had rebelled during World War II against British rule.

During the British rule, Pir Pagaro declared themselves “Hur” (free from British slavery). The British tried to crush the uprising and that started an armed resistance by Hurs. Ultimately the British passed the infamous law “Hur Act” where the entire Hur community was declared criminals and was ordered to be shot to death on sight.

The Hurs cannot be said to have been defeated as they continued their struggle even after the hanging of Sayyed Sibghatullah Shah the  Pir Sahib, their head. The British were forced by Hurs and a number of other movements to leave the ‘Jewel in the British Crown’. Pir Pagaro Sayyed Sibghatullah Shah was hanged on March 20, 1943.

The Muslims of Jaisalmer and Barmer follow Pir Pagharo and they would have matrimonial alliances with their brethren in the Sindh province.  Shah Mardan Shah II is the current Pir Pagaro. and is worshipped by the Hur Muslims of both Jaisalmer and Barmer.

The Hurs have always been strongly supporting the Congress and have been very active in politics. In the  two wars of 1965 and 1971 where the battle was also fought on the Thar desert, the Hurs joined the Pakistan army, but the Hurs residing on the Indian side supported India.

The Hurs of Jaisalmer and Barmer love their motherland and after partition decided to stay back in their own land guided by the ancestors of Ghazi Faqir who convinced the community that India was their motherland.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot mourned the death of Ghazi Faqir and called him a nationalist who loved India.