Abstract

The major schism in the history of Islam in India, as in some other countries with Muslim populations, has been between Sunnism and Shi‘ism. Since Shias have formed a minority in India, it is of some interest to trace how they were treated by the Sunni majority (and the state) and follow the progress of theological controversies that ensued between the two sects. The present paper reconstructs the story of the co-existence and disputation between the two sects in India from about the thirteenth century to the early nineteenth century, when the onset of colonialism created an entirely changed political and cultural atmosphere.