Representation of Crimes Associated with Fake Piri-Muridi in Urdu Novels: A Critical Study

Abstract

This study critically examines the representation of crimes associated with fraudulent spiritual leadership and exploitative Pir-Murid relationships in Urdu novels. It explores how the institution of fake piri-muridi is portrayed not merely as a religious deception but as a complex mechanism of social, political, economic, psychological, and sexual exploitation. Through a close reading of selected Urdu novels, the study investigates the ways in which self-proclaimed spiritual figures and hereditary custodians of shrines manipulate religious authority, exploit the trust of disciples, accumulate wealth and property, establish political connections, and construct an artificial image of sanctity through media and public representation. The analysis also focuses on the suppression of individual autonomy, particularly that of women, through coercion, fear, fabricated religious doctrines, forced relationships, and sexual abuse. The study argues that these fictional representations expose the transformation of spiritual authority into a form of social and material power, in which religious symbolism becomes a means of legitimizing personal interests and institutionalized exploitation. Urdu fiction, therefore, emerges as an important critical space for exposing the hidden structures of power and the social consequences of fraudulent piri-muridi.

Reference:

1. Mirza Hadi Ruswa, Umrao Jan Ada, Lahore: Takhleeqat, 1999,
2. 982.
3. Mirza Athar Baig, Ghulam Bagh, Lahore: Al-Hamd Publications, 2021, p. 181.
4. Tahira Iqbal, Neeli Bar, Islamabad: Dost Publications, 2017,
5. 304.
6. Muhammad Ilyas, Baraf, Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2010, p. 404.
7. Younas Javed, Kanjri Ka Pul, Lahore: Jumhoori Publications, 2011, p. 152.
8. Tahira Iqbal, Neeli Bar, Islamabad: Dost Publications, 2017,
9. 300.
10. Ibid, p. 301.
11. Ibid, p. 302.
12. Ibid, p. 304.
13. Tahira Iqbal, Neeli Bar, Islamabad: Dost Publications, 2017,
14. 319-320.
15. Asghar Nadeem Syed, Tooti Hui Tanab Idhar, Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2019, p. 129.
16. Ibid, p. 134-135.