Jinnealogy: Time, Islam, and Ecological Thought in the Medieval Ruins of Delhi

333 Pages·2017·3.46 MB·English

by  Anand Vivek Taneja

JINNEALOGY
SOUTH ASIA IN MOTION
EDITOR
Thomas Blom Hansen
EDITORIAL BOARD
Sanjib Baruah
Anne Blackburn
Satish Deshpande
Faisal Devji
Christophe Jaffrelot
Naveeda Khan
Stacey Leigh Pigg
Mrinalini Sinha
Ravi Vasudevan
J I N N E A LO G Y
Time, Islam, and Ecological Thought
in the Medieval Ruins of Delhi
ANAND VIVEK TANEJA
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
©2018 by Anand Vivek Taneja. All rights reserved.
Awarded the Joseph W. Elder Prize in the Indian Social Sciences by the
American Institute of Indian Studies and published with the Institute’s
generous support.
AIIS Publication Committee:
Susan S. Wadley, Brian A. Hatcher, Co-chairs
Joyce B. Flueckiger, Pika Ghosh, Mytheli Sreenivas, Ramnarayan S. Rawat
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford University
Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Taneja, Anand Vivek, 1980– author.
Title: Jinnealogy : time, Islam, and ecological thought in the medieval ruins
of Delhi / Anand Vivek Taneja.
Description: Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2017. |
Series: South Asia in motion | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017012270 (print) | LCCN 2017014062 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781503603950 (e-book) | ISBN 9781503601796 (cloth : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781503603936 (pbk. :alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Jinn—India—Delhi. | Islam—India—Delhi. | Muslim
saints—India—Delhi. | Islamic antiquities—India—Delhi. |
Islam—Relations—Hinduism. | Delhi (India)—Religious life and customs.
Classification: LCC BP63.I42 (ebook) | LCC BP63.I42 T363 2017 (print) |
DDC 297.3/9095456—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017012270
Typeset by Bruce Lundquist in 10.75/15 Adobe Caslon
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Walking Away from the Theater of History 1
1 Jinnealogy: Archival Amnesia and Islamic Theology
in Post-Partition Delhi 19
2 Saintly Visions: The Ethics of Elsewhen 55
3 Strange(r)ness 89
4 Desiring Women 117
5 Translation 149
6 Stones, Snakes, and Saints:
Remembering the Vanished Sacred Geographies of Delhi 181
7 The Shifting Enchantments of Ruins and Laws in Delhi 227
Conclusion: Remnants of Despair, Traces of Hope 259
Postscript 275
Notes 277
References 291
Index 307
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Map 1. Firoz Shah Kotla and its surroundings viii
Map 2. Some of the places discussed in this book ix
Figure 1. Firoz Shah Kotla on a Thursday afternoon 20
Figure 2. A pre-Partition map of the Mandi House area 36
Figure 3. The dargah of Nanhe Miyan Chishti, Mandi House Circle,
New Delhi 37
Figure 4. Letters deposited at Firoz Shah Kotla 48
Figure 5. The Ruins of the Observatory at the Ridge in Delhi 67
Figure 6. Publicity image from Pakeezah 78
Figure 7. Women walking through the passages beneath the mosque
at Firoz Shah Kotla 79
Figure 8. Satpula seen from the north 185
Figure 9. The goddess Durga riding a tiger while fighting a demon 204
Figure 10. Strange fruit, Central Delhi Ridge 213
Figure 11. “Ban Devta”/Forest God? Central Delhi Ridge 215
Figure 12. Kites circling above the ruins of Firoz Shah Kotla 224
Figure 13. The whitening of Darvesh Shah’s mosque 255
vii
Taneja - Map 1
5th proof
Bill Nelson 5/30/17
OLD DELHI
OOLLDD DDEELLHHII
N
R
in
g
R
Delhi Gate oa
d
B Cricket Stadium
a
h
a
d
MMeaduiclaanl aC oAlzleagde hS ru FiroKzo tSlhaah
a Pillar Pyramid
h
NEW DELHI Za Mosque
Connaught afr Ro(RVeifkurgaeme NCoagloanry)
Place a
d
Balmiki Muslim
Basti Graveyard
Newspaper
Offices
Delhi
Police HQ
ITO Crossing
0 .1 .2 .3 .4 .5 mi
0 .2 .4 .6 .8 km PRAGATI
Supreme Court MAIDAN
MAP 1. Firoz Shah Kotla and its surroundings.
viii
Taneja - Map 2
5th proof
Bill Nelson 5/30/17
Pir
Ghaib
CIVIL
CHANDRAWAL LINES
EAST DELHI
Northern
Ridge Forest
OOOLLLDDD DDDEEELLLHHHIII
Jhandewalan Temple
Reservoir
Stadium
Bhuli Bhatiyari
N
Firoz Shah
Kotla
Central
Ridge viR
Forest NEW DELHI er Y
a
m
Humayun’suna
CHANAKYAPURI Lodi Road Tomb
Nizamuddin Basti
and Dargah
M
at
h
ura
R
oa
d
SOUTH
DELHI
Ashiq Allah CHIRAG DILLI
Dargah KHIRKI
VILLAGE
Southern Ridge Satpula
Forest Saket City Na
MMEEHHRRAAUULLII Center (Malls) al 0 1 2 mi
0 1 2 3 km
MAP 2. Some of the places discussed in this book.
ix