IISA 2024 | Sufism and religious interactions from South Asia-Kashshaf Ghani

Recorded as part of the online colloquium, Interreligious interactions in South Asia. 8 April 2024.
In the region of South Asia, Indo-Islamic traditions have a rich history of co-existence and interaction stretching back several centuries, that stimulated and resulted in a range of cultural production within the region. The aim is to explore the complex and unevenly charted domain of contact and exchange that involved practitioners of Sufism and Indic communities. These groups represented an elite approach to their individual traditions - Islam, Hinduism, bhakti, yoga, tantra etc. However, they were also successful in reaching down to the level of popular understanding, where they could tap a larger audience for their preaching and practice, as well a diverse readership for works that came to be produced through multiple linguistic mediums.
In doing so, a long-standing tradition of cohabitation and cultural assimilation was stimulated at various levels of the society, leading to social and spiritual collaboration, and a thoughtful synthesis of ideas and religious positions. The presentation will begin with an overview on forms of interaction involving Sufi traditions and the impact they left on spiritual, esoteric, and textual practices. The discussion will conclude in early modern Bengal where Sufi interactions with local esoteric practices allow us to study flexible boundaries and meaningful interactions between spiritual traditions.
About the speaker
Kashshaf Ghani specializes on pre-modern South Asia covering the period 1000-1800, focusing on the history of Sufism, its practices, interactions, networks, and regional experiences. He is also interested in Indo-Persian histories, interreligious interactions, history and culture of the Persianate world, and Asian interconnections. He has held research positions as Sir Amir Ali Research Fellow in Islamic History and Culture at the Asiatic Society, Kolkata, Perso-Indica Visiting Fellow at the Sorbonne-Nouvelle, Paris, Visiting Fellow at the Zentrurn Moderner Orient, Berlin, and Fellow at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata.
Kashshaf was the U.S. State Department Academic Visitor at Temple University (2018), and received a U.S. State Department follow-on grant in 2020. He was carrying out research on Religious Pluralism in the U.S., with a focus on modern-day Sufi networks in the U.S. Kashshaf has held teaching positions at Aliah University, Kolkata, and the University of Calcutta. Currently he teaches History at Nalanda University, India. His publications include Exploring the Global South: Voices, Ideas, Histories (2013) and Imagining Asia(s): Networks, Actors, Sites (2019). His recent monograph is titled Sufi Rituals and Practices: Experiences from South Asia 1200-1450 (2024).
This series was convened by Hina Khalid (Cambridge), Pranav Prakash (Oxford) and Ankur Barua (Cambridge) with support from the Cambridge Interfaith Programme.