Who was Sarmad and why was he beheaded? History does not give much of an account and it appears that the political correctness of the period kept historians from narrating the details of the tragic episode. However, the reluctance of the historians could not suppress popular imagination which associated numerous miraculous stories with Sarmad, and these were duly recorded by latter-day chronicles.
Most historical accounts describe Sarmad as being of “foreign origin, an Armenian merchant who came to India in the reign of Shah Jahan”. Like other Iranian traders, Sarmad first came to Sindh and settled in Thatta, a prosperous trading town. It was here that Sarmad passionately fell in love with a local girl, became distracted and lost all his merchandise and wealth. He became so obsessed with his love that he would go about the streets naked and give poetic expression to his feelings, unmindful of public attention.
Other accounts insist that the focus of his affection was a young boy — Abhi Chand. Sarmad would go and sit at his beloved’s door and shower him with poetic praises. The father of the boy, seeing the purity of Sarmad’s feelings, allowed him to come to his house. Over a period of time, Sarmad and Abhi Chand became so attached that they could not bear to live apart. Later, both of them left Thatta for Delhi. Sarmad’s reputation as a man of piety and supernatural powers had preceded him and the people of Delhi flocked around him.
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3:59 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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