Religious Traditions and Early Ismaili History in South Asia: Some Historical Perspectives on Satpanthi Literature and the Ginans

Keywords: Bhakti, batini, da‘i ‘Abd Allah, ginans, Imam-Caliph al-Mustansir bi’llah, Kalki, India, Ismailis, Ismaili Khojas, Jats, Nizari Ismailis, Nur Muhammad Shah, Pir Shams, Puranas, Rajputs, Satgur Nur, Satpanthi, Siddharaja, South Asia, Sufi, Vaishnavism.

Abstract: Recent research on the Ginans the devotional poems of the Ismailis of South Asia has opened up avenues of inquiry that have the potential to throw light on unexplored aspects of religion and society in South Asia. The following article reviews some recent research on the Ginans against the backdrop of religious change in medieval and early modern South Asia. It suggests that Ismailis may well have played a greater part in South Asian religious and literary history than previously suspected.