ABSTRACT
The city of Lucknow, the capital of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, is known within India for its distinctive urban culture, which developed in the 18th and early 19th centuries when the city and surrounding province of Oudh were ruled by a lineage of Shi'is of Persian descent. This chapter focuses on the nature and significance of conflicts between Sunnis and Shi'is, with emphasis on the Shi'i perspective. In most contexts in India, Imami Shi'is, who are the most numerous among the varieties of Shi'is represented in India, share with Sunnis a common history, common religious traditions, and common customs. From 1977 until the present, Shi'i agitations have acquired a more genuinely political and communal character. Muharram conflicts provide a public occasion for political maneuvering, especially for the Sunnis but also for other "political actors," as Wright calls them, who might gain from the controversy.
