In the immense crush of the crowd, young Abuzar Gafari stood out because of his printed t-shirt. “Bhaijan amar jan,” it read in Bengali. My...
In the immense crush of the crowd, young Abuzar Gafari stood out because of his printed t-shirt. “Bhaijan amar jan,” it read in Bengali. My life for bhaijan.
The bhaijan or elder brother is Abbas Siddiqui, a peerzada or descendent of the 19th century sufi saint Abu Bakr Siddiqui, who played a significant role in making Furfura Sharif, a sufi shrine less than two hours from Kolkata, into a magnet for Bengalis Muslims spanning present-day West Bengal, Assam and Bangladesh.
Gafari was one of the lakhs who attended the Isal-e-Sawab, the annual religious pilgrimage at Furfura Sharif, held in the first week of March this year.
The pilgrimage took place with assembly elections in the state barely weeks away – elections in which Abbas Siddiqui is making his political debut through his newly formed Indian Secular Front.
When he launched the political outfit in January, Siddiqui was propelled to the top ranks of the state’s politics almost immediately, with his importance being underlined by the fact that the Left Front as well as the Congress agreed to ally with him. On February 28, as this new formation held its first rally at Kolkata’s iconic Brigade Parade Ground, Siddiqui emerged as the star, garnering more cheers, applause and...
