Lucknow: An assistant professor at the University of Connecticut (USA), Asif Majid, along with Fulbright-Nehru scholars, will conduct research and explore Muharram’s transreligious harmony. They will study multiple events like processions and religious gatherings held during Muharram commemorations in Lucknow and Hyderabad under the supervision of Lucknow University’s sociology department head, Prof DR Sahu.
“Asif is an assistant professor of theatre and human rights at the University of Connecticut (USA). He will be conducting a research project in India titled ‘Performing Muharram in Plurality: Art, Bodies and Commemoration in Lucknow and Hyderabad’ under my supervision,” said Prof Sahu.
He mentioned that Asif is a brilliant academician, making it a learning opportunity for both institutions. Apart from being an assistant professor, Asif is also affiliate faculty in anthropology, Asian and Asian American studies, intersectional indigeneity, race, ethnicity and politics, Middle East studies, and women’s, gender and sexuality studies, he added.
Prof Sahu said that global commemorations of the death of Husayn ibn Ali, Shia Muslims’ third Imam and Muhammad’s grandson, represent the world’s largest transnational annual ritual of mourning. In India, Lucknow and Hyderabad are particularly important sites for the mourning of Husayn, hence he chose Lucknow and LU for his research.
“Inclusive of multiple performance forms — military re-enactments, performance poetry, drumming, processions, religious gatherings and more — Muharram commemorations in Lucknow and Hyderabad are important because they feature Shia Muslims, Sunni Muslims, Hindus and others,” said Sahu.
He explained that these practices are possible sites of transreligious harmony. However, since the performance-based elements of Muharram are underexplored, Muharram rituals in India tend to be viewed primarily as Shia Muslim practices, undermining the universality of Husayn’s message and modern manifestations of India’s religious plurality. Examining social and sacred performances of Muharram mourning in Lucknow and Hyderabad seeks to broaden understandings of the relationship between Islamic social justice frameworks and contemporary Indian socio-religious dynamics, he added.
