K.D. Maini
Darbar Laar Sharief Wangat Kashmir of Hazrat Baba Ji Sahib Larvi is one of the most sacred shrines for Gujjar, Bakerwal and Pahari people of J&K State. The Gujjars all over the State including POK have great spiritual attachment with this Shrine. Lacs of people with deep devotion assemble in this Shrine every year on 8th June at the time of Urs Sharief to pay obeisance. This Shrine is also a symbol of Gujjar pride heritage and culture apart from religious attraction.
The Dargah Lar Sharief is 45 kilometers in the north of Srinagar and falls in Kangan tehsil of Ganderbal district on the right bank of Kankhani stream. The Shrine is located in the heart of Wangat village now popularly known as Baba Nagri. The Darbar Sharief is surrounded by the Deodar forests, green pastures, meadows, fruit gardens and snow capped peaks.
Hazrat Baba Ji Sahib Larvi was a great religious saint, god fearing personality, social reformer and a Sufi poet of 18th century AD. He was born in the village Singohra in Balakote area (now in Pakistan) in 1863 AD in a Bakerwal family. The local priest named the child as Abdullah. His father Fazal Gul passed away when he was only four years old. He and his mother took shelter at uncle’s house after the death of his father. His uncle deputed him for grazing of cattle but the child was inclined towards spiritualism and most of the time was in meditation by sitting alone. This behaviour of Baba Ji Sahib did not suit his uncle. Therefore, Baba Ji returned to his native house after few years. His mother was a very kind lady. Keeping in view his attitude towards spiritualism, she allowed him for a saintly life. Therefore, Baba Ji Sahib started meditation in a grave type cabin and meditated their for about seven years without taking meal. In the meantime his mother passed away. Now, Baba Ji Sahib was in search of a Peer who could lead him in the right direction of spiritualism. In those days Nakshbandi Peer Nizam-ud-Din Kayani of Kaiyan Sharief Muzafarabad was very popular. Baba Ji attended his Darbar and became his true disciple.
Baba Ji Sahib returned to Sinjora from Kayian Sharief and started the community langer and prayers. The people of the surrounding villages started pouring in the house of Baba Ji Sahib for his blessings. In 1893, Baba Ji Sahib fulfilled the second desire of his Pir and migrated from Sanjohra to Wangat in Kashmir. With the passage of time he became very popular among the followers and devotees who came from all over Kashmir. Baba Ji Sahib acquired a piece of land in the heart of Wangat village, established his Dera in 1895, started the community langer, constructed a Mosque for prayer and started preaching the true thoughts of Islam to devotees.
In 1901 AD, Baba Ji visited Poonch for the first time when he was in search of a hand written Quran Sharief which was written by Emperor Aurangzeb. He recovered the same from a Sangu Gujjar family of Khanater. In 1902 AD he conducted extensive tour of Poonch-Rajouri districts in which thousands of people became his disciple. In 1906 AD he acquired a piece of land at Morha Sharief in Surankote and established his Dera where he resided for three month during winter. The historian Mohd Din Foaq writes in Tariq-e-Aquama-e-Poonch that from 1905 to 1926 AD almost all the Gujjars, Bakerwals and Pahari people of Poonch and Rajouri had become his disciples.
Baba Ji Sahib was also a great poet. He laid the foundation of Sufi poetry in Poonch and Rajouri districts. Due to his encouragement a number of natives of this area who were influenced by Baba Ji Sahib started writing Sufiana poetry. These include Sain Qadar Bakash, Fateh Mohd Daralvi, Khuda Bakash Zar, Bagh Hussain Shah etc. Baba Ji Sahib had also wrote two books on Islam namely Malfu Zaat-e-Nizamia and Israr-e-Kabiri apart from Sufiana poetry book. In 1926 Baba Je Sahib passed away in the age of 63.
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