While writing Pakistan In Tune, my forthcoming book on Pakistani music, I was introduced to the Centre for Social Justice Pakistan and their study on how religious music expresses devotion and affects communal memory. This collaboration inspired a series of monographs on the subject, which begin with this article.
The classical musical traditions of Pakistan, like those of the wider Subcontinent, are rooted in the ancient Vedic heritage that first took shape along the Indus riparian system. It is plausible that much of Vedic knowledge was infused with the musical traditions of earlier cultures, such as those of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation. But it is in the Vedas -- Hindu religious texts -- especially the Sama Veda, that we find the earliest surviving codified systems of melody and rhythm in the Subcontinent.
THE MUSICAL VOCABULARY
These early musical forms were primarily liturgical, performed orally by priests during yajna [sacrificial rituals]. Composed over three millennia ago, these early Vedic texts formulated the conceptual foundations for what would eventually evolve into the musical vocabulary of the thaats [parent scale], raags [melodic frameworks] and taals [rhythmic structure] that are still used today among the diverse communities in Pakistan settled along the Indus and its tributaries.
Although the political reconfiguration of the Subcontinent in 1947 established Pakistan as a homeland for South Asian Muslims, the Pakistan Movement itself was also supported by prominent non-Muslims -- such as Satya Prakash Singha, Sir Victor Turner, Justice Alvin Robert Cornelius, Cecil Edward Gibbon and Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta, among others -- illustrating the nation's deeply intertwined social fabric.
This complex history means that studying religious music in Pakistan today requires exploring a multifaceted living tradition that has both persisted and been adapted within a modern national context. Today, while the majority of Pakistan's population identifies as Muslim, the nation's multi-layered cultural identity still resonates with the profound imprints of its Hindu, Christian, Sikh and other minorities.
While the majority of Pakistan's population identifies as Muslim, the nation's multi-layered cultural identity still resonates with the profound imprints of its Hindu, Christian, Sikh and other minorities. Nowhere is this more evident than in the living tradition of its multifaceted religious music
This resonance is perhaps nowhere more audible than in the shared spiritual vocabulary of sound itself. The sacredness of music is central to all Vedic literature, as is evident in the Nadabindu Upanishad, which emphasises that one should be conscious of their anahata nāda [inner or unstruck tone]. This same concept of naad [sound] was also employed by Bulleh Shah, the 18th-century Sufi poet from Punjab.
The most seminal work of Vedic literature that laid the structural foundation of musical theory in the Subcontinent was the Nātya Śāstra, compiled somewhere between 200 BCE and 200 CE and attributed to the mythical sage Bharata. This comprehensive work, consisting of 6,000 poetic verses, covers everything from dramatic composition and stage construction to genres of acting, dance and music and their integration within performances.
The Nātya Śāstra categorised the performing arts into three branches: gāna [vocalisation], vādya [instrumentation], and nātya [acting/dancing]. The text is best known for its detailed exploration of rasa -- the emotional essence of a performance; its purpose is not just to entertain, but to evoke spiritual and moral reflection.
Most of the theory of Indian and Pakistani classical music today can trace its roots to the Nātya Śāstra, including the seven notes (swara) we know today as sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha and ni, as well as the further division of śruti [microintervals], which are integral to understanding not just Indo-Pak but also Turko-Persian and Middle Eastern music.
Besides presenting a comprehensive theory of music, the Nātya Śāstra also categorised musical instruments of ancient India into four distinct groups: chordophones or string instruments (eg veena), membranophones or percussion instruments (eg drums), wind instruments (eg flutes), and struck instruments (eg cymbals). Variations of all these instruments are used in folk and classical music throughout Pakistan today.
Islam's arrival in the Subcontinent universalised musical theory through a confluence of civilisations, building upon ancient cross-pollination dating from Harappan times, where common musical instruments like the lyre, lute and flute suggested shared musical traditions.
This early cross-pollination paved the way for the sophisticated Arabic music of Islam's Golden Age, systematised in al-Farabi's (872-950/951) Kitab al-Musiqa al-Kabir [The Great Book of Music], and which also produced great musician-poets from the seventh to ninth centuries, such as Azza al-Mayla from Medina, Ibn Misjah -- 'The father of Islamic music' -- from Mecca and Ziryab -- 'The father of Andalusian music' -- from Iraq.
In the Subcontinent, this cultural renaissance was best exemplified by the 13th-century poet, mystic and musician Amir Khusrau. The massive influx of musicians and listeners from the Middle East and Central Asia introduced new aesthetics, creating demand for more variety within India's classical traditions.
This gave birth to new forms like khayal [a form of South Asian classical music that focuses on melodic improvisation], qawwali [Sufi devotional music], tarana [aclassical vocal style], tappa [a short folk song of northern Indian origin] and ghazal [a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry], which are all credited to Khusrau.
Though this is probably an exaggeration, it is beyond dispute that Khusrau composed countless lyrical verses and was instrumental in shaping the future of Hindustani classical music. He is also credited with inventing Raag Yaman (Aiman in Pakistan), though he more likely modified the ancient Raag Kalyan and gave it its new name.
Cultural exchanges extended beyond music. With Persian as the dominant cultural language, essential translations like the Ghunyat al-Munya (1374-5) emerged, initiating a profound integration, where Vedic musical tradition found vibrant new expression under Muslim court patronage.
Sangeeta Ratnakara [Ocean of Music], the most definitive musicological text written in 13th-century India, categorises music into two forms: marga sangeeta [classical music] and desi sangeeta [folk music]. Before the formation of Muslim empires in the Subcontinent, marga sangeeta, with its highly structured, rule-bound forms, was mostly performed in temples and during religious festivals. It was in the mediaeval ages that classical music found royal patronage and incentives for innovation -- first in the courts of the Delhi Sultanate, the Rajput kingdoms and South Indian dynasties and, later, during the Mughal Empire.
It is important to note that, before the Muslim empires were defeated and colonised by European powers, Sufism informed mainstream Islamic intellectual thought. By embracing the emotive power of music and the arts as a means of approaching the Divine, Sufi thought allowed cultures to incubate and develop, integrating within them new expressions and forms.
Thus, in the Indian Subcontinent, musicians such as Amir Khusrau, Naimat Khan Sadarang, Tansen and Tanras Khan readily learnt, utilised and adapted older Indian musical forms and instruments. It was during this period of cultural confluence that the sitar and tabla also evolved out of the veena [a stringed instrument] -- and pakhawaj [a two-headed drum], in order to accompany the new ornamental style of khayalgayeki [a classical art of interpretive raag-based singing], which itself had evolved from the older 'fixed' style of dhrupad [an ancient style of Hindustani classical music].
The more versatile sitar and tabla allowed musicians to showcase their skills and captivate audiences by innovating new rhythmic styles, such as the Sitarkhani Taal and, later, the popular Dadra and Keherwa.
The lyrical compositions created for these innovative styles readily drew on imagery from both the Islamic Sufi and Hindu Bhakti traditions, which deeply influenced one another during the mediaeval period through their shared emphasis on personal devotion, love for the Divine, and inward spiritual experience over caste, ritual and orthodoxy.
This fusion also contributed to the emergence of the light-classical thumri, a genre of song rich in its portrayal of the romantic love between Radha and Krishna, as well as kathak -- a classical form of dance.
Several raags also emerged out of this cultural fusion, such as Darbari, Mian Ki Malhar, Mian Ki Todi and Mian Ki Sarang, all attributed to the great musician Tansen, who himself was a master of dhrupad. According to popular tradition, Tansen is also said to have been a disciple of the great musician-poet Swami Haridas, and began his musical career in the court of Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior, before becoming one of the nine famed 'jewels' of Emperor Akbar's court.
FOLK MUSIC
While the schools and lineages (gharanas) of classical music flourished under the patronage of royal courts, desi sangeet, or folk music, continued to evolve organically at village festivals and shared cultural spaces. Drawing upon vernacular devotional poetry rooted in syncretic spiritual traditions, this musical form made spiritual teachings accessible to the general public and helped cultivate a shared devotional culture that transcended religious boundaries.
The Kafi musical scale also developed during this period of intense cultural fusion, out of the rich devotional music of the Sufi, Bhakti and Sikh traditions, which later became classified as one of the ten main thaats of North Indian classical music.
The word kafi, which may have derived from the Arabic word qāfiya, meaning 'rhyme' or from the vernacular term 'kaafi' -- meaning 'sufficient' -- also refers to a particular style of Sufi poetry in Punjab and Sindh, first popularised by the Sufi poet Shah Hussain.
But this centuries-old syncretic tradition, however resilient, was soon to be severely tested by the political upheavals of the 19th and 20th centuries.
COLONIAL DISRUPTIONS
Before the British colonisation, Hindus and Muslims in the Indian Subcontinent had largely coexisted in relative harmony, often serving together in each other's armies under Hindu and Muslim rulers alike. However, following the 1857 Rebellion -- during which the two communities had fought side by side against colonial rule -- the British colonial administration recognised the threat of unified opposition.
As Lord Elphinstone, then Governor of Bombay, reportedly declared: "Divide et impera was an old Roman maxim, and it shall be ours." In the aftermath, the British institutionalised a policy of divide and rule, systematically promoting communal divisions. This included the creation of separate electorates for Hindus and Muslims, sowing the seeds of political and social fragmentation that would shape the trajectory of postcolonial South Asia.
The days of Partition in 1947 and the years immediately following it witnessed one of the largest and most traumatic mass migrations in South Asian history: Hindus and Sikhs migrated from the newly created Pakistan to India, while Muslims looked for refuge in Pakistan.
Consequently, the Hindu population that remained in Pakistan significantly reduced in size and became more geographically dispersed. Today, the remaining Hindu communities are scattered across Pakistan, with the most significant concentrations located in Sindh and southern Punjab -- particularly in Tharparkar and Cholistan -- which have long been a confluence of Sufi and Bhakti traditions, where shared saints like Jhulelal are venerated across religious lines. In these arid landscapes, Hindu and Muslim communities continue to live side by side, bound by centuries-old shared cultural and artistic traditions.
THARPARKAR AND CHOLISTAN
Tharparkar and Cholistan are intrinsically connected with the adjoining regions of Rajasthan in India, with many tribes -- such as the Bhaat, Bheel and Manganiyar -- settled on both sides of the border, maintaining strong oral and musical traditions that transcend national boundaries. These groups are especially renowned for their storytelling and devotional music, which has historically served as both a cultural archive and spiritual expression.
What is striking across these tribes is their common devotion to a wide spectrum of spiritual poetry. In Tharparkar and Cholistan today, musicians from both Hindu and Muslim backgrounds perform the devotional verses of Bhagat Kabir, Tulsi Das, and Mira Bai, as well as the Sufi poetry of Khwaja Ghulam Fareed, Sachal Sarmast, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and Bulleh Shah. These poets are revered not merely as representatives of a specific religion but as voices of universal humanism, deeply rooted in the land and its people.
Among the most captivating expressions of this cultural syncretism is the ancient storytelling tradition of Pabu Ji Ki Paath, still performed in Cholistan. This form of devotional theatre recounts the legendary life of Pabu Ji -- regarded as an incarnation of Lakshman, the brother of Ram -- through a vivid visual and musical tableau.
The story is enacted upon a large illustrated cloth (chaadar) laid out before the audience, accompanied by a bowed instrument called the raanti. Typically performed under moonlight and by oil lamps, Pabu Ji Ki Paath functions as a religious ritual and an artistic performance. These all-night performances provide not only spiritual sustenance but also a living connection to local history and collective memory, celebrating a way of life that has endured across generations.
RECONNECTING WITH COEXISTENCE
As Pakistan looks towards the future in an increasingly interconnected and multipolar world, reconnecting with its rich, precolonial legacy of religious coexistence and shared artistic traditions offers not just historical insight but a potential path forward.
This legacy is not confined to history; it lives on in the voices of contemporary minority musicians -- from the Hindu Manganiyars of Thar to the Sikh Shabad singers of Lahore -- who continue to be the standard-bearers of this confluence.
In the next part of this series, we will step into the present day to meet these artists and investigate how their devotion continues to embellish Pakistan's rich and living soundscape.