The Reviving of Muharram Processions in Mumbai, an Iranian Initiative

The Muharram ritual in Mumbai has been radically changed since the end of 19th century. The ritual was diffused in India, and practised by Sunnis and even Hindus in Mumbai during the 19th century. The Sunni community of Konkonis not only dominated the Muslim community, but also claimed authority over the Muharram procession in the 19th century. The Muharram observance as an inter-communal festival in Mumbai came to an end with the raising of Hindu Nationalist movement and breaking of the riot between Hindus and Muslims (1893). The violence between Muslims and Hindus during the month of Muharram became very frequent after the riot. Consequently, colonial authorities imposed tight regulations over Muharram in 1912. The reports published in Times of India in years indicate that the regulation (1912) indirectly stopped the procession, and the commemoration was limited to majlises in Shi’a-Muslim locations, mainly at those associated to Iranian community, known as Moguls in Mumbai. The community not only played a key role to keep the remembrance of Ashura alive, but also later they gradually revived the procession of Ashura during the mid of 20th century, as a Shi’i ritual. These initiatives became a core that has constituted the Muharram processions in Mumbai, today.
This paper reviews the contribution of the Iranian community to Shi’i culture in Mumbai since the 18th century based on archive materials, and some historical vaghf documents. The paper particularly studies the role of Iranians to revive the Muharram processions based on an ethnographic fieldwork in Mumbai in 2009 and 2010. The study not only considers the role of Ithna-ashari Shias, mainly migrated from Fars and later from Yazd, but also looks at the role of Agha-Khan I-III and their family members in the dynamic of Muharram rituals. Although the Iranian community became a very small community among Shi'a communities of Mumbai, it remains an influential community due to its role to revive processions and built the most of Shi'i places, such as Mogul Masjid, in Mumbai.