RAS question
The Naqshbandi order of Sufism in India was represented by which notable figure during Akbar's reign?
Correct answer: (C) Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi.
Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was the prominent Naqshbandi figure linked with the Akbar-period debate over Mughal religious policy.
Explanation
Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi, also known as Mujaddid Alf Sani, was the key Naqshbandi figure in this Akbar-period context. He was the prominent Naqshbandi representative who opposed Akbar's Din-i-Ilahi and liberal religious policies, arguing instead for strict Islamic orthodoxy. NCERT Themes in Indian History, Part II describes the Maktubat-i Imam Rabbani as the letters of the noted seventeenth-century Naqshbandi Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, whose ideology is often contrasted with Akbar's liberal and non-sectarian views. That contrast places him apart from Chishti saints or later Mughal figures: the issue is not generic Sufism, but the Naqshbandi response to Akbar's religious climate.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Nizamuddin Auliya belongs to the Chishti order and to an earlier fourteenth-century setting, so he does not represent the Naqshbandi response in Akbar's context.
- (B) Dara Shikoh was a Mughal prince, not the Naqshbandi Sufi figure associated with opposition to Akbar's liberal religious policies.
- (D) Salim Chishti was a Chishti saint, while NCERT Themes in Indian History, Part II links the seventeenth-century Naqshbandi tradition in this context to Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi rather than to Chishti figures.
Concept
The Bhakti-Sufi traditions segment of medieval Indian history includes distinctions between Sufi orders and their relationships with the Mughal state. Akbar's religious policy and Sufi silsilas recur in RAS as standard crossover themes in polity, culture and medieval history.