HYDERABAD: A 100-year-old Jamatyoon procession was held from the shrine of Hazrat Juman Shah Shaheed in Tando Mir Mahmood, Hyderabad. The largest procession of the city was organised under the banner of Anjuman Safina.
The procession holds special significance for devotees due to the symbolic cradle of Hazrat Ali Akbar (RA) and the Mehndi of Hazrat Qasim (RA), which are among its main attractions. The procession passed through its traditional routes and will conclude at Tando Mir Mahmood after completing a journey of 24 hours. Due to the procession, mobile network services remained partially affected in some areas, while strict security arrangements were made by the administration.
The procession carries a unique historical background. The area between Old Power House Tando Mir Mahmood and Tando Agha in Hyderabad was named after Mir Mahmood Talpur, where communities including Talpur, Leghari, Habshi, Shidi and Maghthar had been residing for generations.
According to historian and former director of Radio Pakistan Hyderabad Station Naseer Mirza, around 1930, people of different schools of thought collectively installed the Alam of Hazrat Ghazi Abbas Alamdar (RA) at the shrine of Sufi saint Dada Jaman Shah Shaheed.
In the local Sindhi language, the Alam is called Par, and therefore, the historic procession became known as the Jamatyoon procession or Par, a name it continues to carry even after 97 years.
Mirza said the communities of Tando Mir Mahmood, including Sunni and Shia devotees, also started the symbolic cradle of Hazrat Ali Akbar (RA) to promote religious harmony and express their devotion. Currently, the Tando Mir Mahmood community is registered as Anjuman Safina, which organised the 7th Muharram procession on Tuesday.
Mirza said the cradle of Hazrat Ali Akbar (RA), prepared in 1930, is brought out every year before the Maghrib prayers on 7th Muharram. The procession is led by Anjuman Safina head Mir Balach Marri.
Historically, the procession still begins from the Jaman Shah Shrine and its first stop is made near the Panjra Bridge at the shrine of Gul Shah Bukhari. Around a hundred Zuljanah replicas are brought in the procession, while thousands of mourners from different districts and cities of Sindh reach Hyderabad to join the historic event.
Mirza said women living in the old settlements around Tando Mir Mahmood spend months preparing and decorating the cradles with flowers and ornaments as an expression of their love and devotion for the family of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Zanwar Sattar Dars said that the real scale of the Jamatyoon procession can be witnessed when the procession reaches Faqir Jo Par around 1am. At that time roads leading towards Qadamgah Hazrat Ali (RA) and Pakka Qila, as well as Station Road and the Cloth Market, are filled with a huge gathering of people. Thousands of devotees also stand on roofs and at windows of houses around Faqir Jo Par to witness the procession.
The procession moves from Faqir Jo Par through Station Road and reaches Khokhar Mohalla in Gaari Khata, where a stop is made at Gul Shah Haveli. After passing through its traditional routes, the historic procession returns and concludes at Tando Mir Mahmood after 24 hours, maintaining its 100-year-old tradition.
