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Ajmer अजमेर
—  city  —
Mayo College
Ajmer
Coordinates: 26°27′N 74°38′E / 26.45°N 74.64°E / 26.45; 74.64Coordinates: 26°27′N 74°38′E / 26.45°N 74.64°E / 26.45; 74.64
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District	Ajmer
Elevation	486 m (1,594 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	485,197
Languages
• Official	Hindi
• Regional	Rajasthani
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	3050 xx
Telephone code	+0145
Vehicle registration	RJ01
Nearest city	Jaipur, Udaipur, Delhi
Website	www.ajmer.nic.in

Ajmer (pronounced [ədʒmeːr] ( listen)) is the 5th largest city in Rajasthan and is the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 (2011 census), and is located 135 kilometres (84 mi) west of Jaipur, the state capital, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from Delhi.

Ajmer is surrounded by the Aravalli Mountains. It is a pilgrimage centre for the shrine of the Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and is also the base for visiting Pushkar (11 km), an ancient Hindu pilgrimage city, famous for the temple of Brahma.

History[link]

Jahangir receives Prince Khurram at Ajmer on his return from the Mewar campaign

Ajmer (Sanskrit Ajayameru) was founded in the late 7th century A.D. by Dushyant Chauhan. The Chauhan dynasty ruled Ajmer in spite of repeated invasions by Turkic marauders from Central Asia across the north of India. Ajmer was conquered by Muhammad of Ghor, founder of the Delhi Sultanate, in 1193. However, the Chauhan rulers were allowed autonomy upon the payment of a heavy tribute to the conquerors. Ajmer remained subject to Delhi until 1365 when it was captured by the ruler of Mewar. In 1509, control of Ajmer was disputed between the Maharajas of Mewar and Marwar unitil it was conquered by the Marwar in 1532. The city was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1559. In the 18th century, control passed to the Marathas.

In 1818 the British forced the Marathas to cede the city for 50,000 rupees whereupon it became part of the province of Ajmer-Merwara, which consisted of the districts of Ajmer and Merwara and were physically separated by the territory of the Rajputana Agency. Ajmer-Merwara was directly administered by the British Raj, by a commissioner who was subordinate to the Governor-General's agent for Rajputana. Ajmer-Merwara remained a province of India until 1950, when it became the Ajmer State.

Ajmer state became part of Rajasthan state on 1 November 1956.

Geography[link]

Lake Anasagar against Taragarh Hill

Ajmer is surrounded by the Aravalli Mountains. The city is sied on the lower slopes of the Taragarh Hill in the Aravalli Range. It is situated almost in the centre of Rajasthan. To the north of the city is a large artificial lake, called Anasagar with a marble structure known as Baradari. Ajmer is protected from the Thar desert by the massive rocks of Nagpathar range.

Climate[link]

Ajmer has a hot semi-arid climate with over 55 centimetres (25.4 in) of rain every year but most of the rain occurs in the Monsoon months, between June and September. Temperatures remain relatively high throughout the year, with the summer months of April to early July having an average daily temperature of about 30°C (86°F). During the monsoon there are frequent heavy rains and thunderstorms but flooding is not a common occurrence. The winter months of November to February are mild and temperate with average temperatures ranging from 15–18°C (59–64°F) with little or no humidity. There are, however, occasional cold weather front that cause temperatures to fall to near freezing levels.

Transportation[link]

Ajmer is well connected to the major cities of India by land, rail and air.

Air[link]

An airport near Ajmer has been proposed by the Government of Rajasthan. At present the nearest airport is the Jaipur International Airport, about 132 km away, with daily flights to the major cities in India.

Rail[link]

The Pushkar Ghati connecting Ajmer and Pushkar

Ajmer is at an important railway junction with Broad gauge lines to Jaipur and Marwar, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Mumbai and then onwards to Bangalore. There is a Metre gauge line to Udaipur. This line is due for conversion to the broad gauge under Project Unigauge. There is a major technical and repair railway workshop in the city. Ajmer Railway Station has been earmarked for investment under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.

Road[link]

The city lies on the Golden Quadrilateral National Highway (NH) 8, midway between Delhi and Mumbai and is located about 400 km from Delhi and 135 km from Jaipur. The Ajmer - Jaipur expressway is a 6 lane highway. There are air conditioned bus services from Delhi, Jaipur and other important cities to Ajmer.

Inter-city transport[link]

Buses are available for travel within the city and to nearby towns such as Pushkar and Kishangarh. Taxis and rickshaws also run throughout the city.

Industry[link]

A marble factory in Kishangarh

Ajmer is a manufacturing trade centre. Notable products include cotton, woolen textiles, leather, hosiery, shoes, soap, and pharmaceuticals. Poultry is a major source of income for farmers. Ajmer also has engineering workshops, re-rolling mills, electronic component plants etc. The nearby town of Kishangarh is one of the largest centres for marble products, employing about 7,000 people.

Tourist sites[link]

Inside Dargah Sharif

Baradari on Lake Anasagar

Soniji Ki Nasiyan

Pushkar is about 11 kilometres from Ajmer and is an important tourist destination. It is famous for Pushkar Lake and the 14th century Brahma Temple at Pushkar, dedicated to Brahmā, according to the Padma Purāņa, Pushkar is the only place where Brahmā may be worshipped.^[2] There is a general belief amongst Hindus that no pilgrimage to the four principal pilgrim centres (Char Dham) namely, Badrināth, Jagannāth, Rāmeshwaram and Dwarka, would be complete without a blessing that comes from bathing in the holy Pushkar Lake. Pushkar has 52 bathing ghats and many temples. Pushkar is also famous for its annual Pushkar Fair.

The Dargāh Sharīf of Khwāja Mu'īnuddīn Chishtī is situated at the foot of the Tārāgaṛh hill, and consists of several white marble buildings arranged around two courtyards, including a massive gate donated by the Nizām of Hyderabad and the Akbari Mosque, built by the Mughal emperor Shāh Jahān. It contains the domed tomb of the saint. Akbar and his queen used to come here by foot on pilgrimage from Agra every year in observance of a vow when he prayed for a son. The large pillars called "Kose ('Mile') Minar", erected at intervals of two miles (3 km) along the entire way between Agra and Ajmer mark the places where the royal pilgrims halted every day. It has been estimated that around 125,000 pilgrims visit the site every day.

Tārāgaṛh Fort, the fort guarding Ajmer, was the seat of the Chauhān rulers. It is reputed to be one of the oldest hill forts in India and the world. It was built by King Ajāypāl Chauhān on the summit of Tārāgaṛh Hill and overlooks Ajmer. The battlements run along the top of the hill. The walls are two miles (3 km) in circumference and the fort can only be approached by way of a very steep slope. When it fell to the British Raj, the fort was dismantled on the orders of Lord William Bentinck and was converted into a sanatorium for the British troops stationed at the garrison town of Nasirabad.

Adhāī Din Kā Jhonpdā, a Vaishnava Hindu temple built in 1153 and converted into a mosque by Quṭbuddīn Aybak in 1193, is situated on the lower slope of Tārāgarh hill. Aikbak's successor, Shams al-Din Iltutmish added to the mosque. It is noted for its double-depth calligraphy inscriptions, in the Naskh and Kufic scripts. Apart from the mosque, called Jāma' Iltutmish (pronounced Altamish locally), nearly the whole of the ancient temple has fallen into ruins, but the relics are still unsurpassed as examples of Hindu architecture and sculpture. Forty columns support the roof, but no two are alike and the ornaments are exceptional in their decorations.^[3]

Magazine, the city's Museum, was once the residence of Prince Salīm, the son of the Emperor Akbar, and presently houses a collection of Mughal and Rajput armour and sculpture. This is the location from where Salīm, as the Emperor Jahāngīr read out the firman permitting the British East India Company to trade with India.

Lake Foysagar at sunset

Maqbara Shaikh Husain, houses the tomb of Khwaja Husain Chishty Rehamatullah Alaih (Shaikh Husain Ajmeri) who was the Peer of Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Emperor Akbar's Time, He was the great grandson of Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishty Rehmatullah Alaih, his tomb was built in 1637-1638 by Khwaja Alauddin Chishty and Sajjadanashin Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin

Mayo College was founded in 1875 by Lord Mayo, Viceroy of India. The architecture of the school buildings is in the same style as royal Rajasthani architecture. The school's main building, in white marble, is a classic example of Indo-Saracenic architecture.^[4]

Anāsāgar Lake, this historic man-made lake was built by Maharaja Anaji (1135-1150 AD). By the lake is the Daulat Bāgh, a garden laid out by Emperor Jahāngīr. Emperor Shāh Jahān later added five pavilions, known as the Baradari, between the garden and the lake.

Soniji Ki Nasiyan is an architecturally rich Digambara Jain temple. It was built in the late nineteenth century. The main chamber, known as the Swarna Nagari "City of Gold", has several gold-plated wooden figures, depicting several figures in the Jain religion.^[5]

Lake Foy Sagar is situated in the outskirts of the city, it is a picturesque artificial lake that was created as a famine relief project in 1892. It offers panoramic views of the neighbouring Aravalli mountains as well as of the evening flights of nearby birds.

Nareli Jain Temple is a relatively new Jain temple. It is located on the outskirts of Ajmer.^[6]

Ajmer, a view from Taragarh Fort

Education[link]

Sophia School and College

Ajmer is notable for its public schools formed in accordance with the precepts of English public schools, amongst which are Mayo College, founded by the British Raj in 1875 to educate the children of Rajputana's royalty and nobles. Ajmer is also home to St. Anselm's H.S. School (1904) and Sophia Girls' School (1918/1935) & College (1942), and the historic Ajmer Music College, founded in 1942, the first accredited institution in Rajputana for teaching Hindustani classical music.

The Board of Secondary Education for Rajasthan is located in Ajmer.

Demographics[link]

According to the 2011 India census,^[7] Ajmer district had a population of 2,584,913, which was made up of 1,325,911 males and 1,259,002 females. Ajmer district had an average literacy rate of 70.46 percent, male literacy being 83.93% and female literacy 56.42%. There was a total of 1,557,264 literates compared to 1,168,856 in the 2001 census. The population density in Ajmer district was 305 compared to 257 per km² in 2001. The female to male ratio in Ajmer was 950/1000. This represents an increase of 2.04% from the 2001 census. Ajmer's population growth in the decade was 18.48%, this compares to a growth figure of 20.93% for the previous decade.

See also[link]

• Luni River

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• W.D. Begg: The Holy Biography of Hazrat Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti (Millat Book Centre, Delhi, 1999).
• Ajmer The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 5, p. 137-146.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ajmer

• Khwaja Sahib
• Ajmer District website
• Ajmer1.com

v t e State of Rajasthan (India) Rajasthan Topics Major cities Jaipur (Capital) Ajmer Bikaner Jodhpur Kota Udaipur Divisions Ajmer Bharatpur Bikaner Jaipur Jodhpur Kota Udaipur Districts Ajmer Alwar Banswara Baran Barmer Bharatpur Bhilwara Bikaner Bundi Chittorgarh Churu Dausa Dholpur Dungarpur Hanumangarh Jaipur Jaisalmer Jalore Jhalawar Jhunjhunu Jodhpur Karauli Kota Nagaur Pali Pratapgarh Rajsamand Sawai Madhopur Sikar Sirohi Sri Ganganagar Tonk Udaipur

Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti
Dargah of Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, India.
Religion	Islam
Other name(s)	Hazrat Khwaja Gharīb Nawāz
Personal
Born	1141 Khorasan (in modern Afghanistan) or Isfahan (in modern Iran)
Died	1230 Ajmer
Senior posting
Based in	Ajmer, Northern India
Title	غریب نواز Gharīb Nawāz، سُلطان الہند Sultan-ul-Hind (emperor of India) Shaikh, Khalifa
Period in office	Late 12th century and early 13th century
Predecessor	Usman Harooni
Successor	Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki

Sultan-ul-Hind, Moinuddin Chishti (Urdu/Persian: معین الدین چشتی‎) (Persian: چشتی‎ - Čištī) (Arabic: ششتى‎ - Shishti) was born in 1141 and died in 1230 CE. Also known as Gharīb Nawāz "Benefactor of the Poor" (غریب نواز), he is the most famous Sufi saint of the Chishti Order of the Indian Subcontinent. He introduced and established the order in South Asia. The initial spiritual chain or silsila of the Chishti order in India, comprising Moinuddin Chishti, Bakhtiyar Kaki, Baba Farid and Nizamuddin Auliya (each successive person being the disciple of the previous one), constitutes the great Sufi saints of Indian history.^[1]

Early life and background[link]

Moinuddin Chishtī is said to have been born in 536 A.H./1141 CE, in Chishti in Sistan region of Afghanistan.^[2] He was a Sayed, a descendant of Muhammad through Ja'far aṣ-Ṣādiq. He grew up in Persia. His parents died when he was only fifteen years old. He inherited a windmill and an orchard from his father. During his childhood, young Moinuddin was different from others and kept himself busy in prayers and meditation. Legend has it that once when he was watering his plants, a revered Sufi, Shaikh Ibrāhim Qundūzī (or Kunduzi) -- the name deriving from his birth place, Kunduz in Afghanistan -- came to his orchard. Young Moinuddin approached him and offered him some fruits. In return, Sheikh Ibrāhīm Qundūzī gave him a piece of bread and asked him to eat it. The Khwāja got enlightened and found himself in a strange world after eating the bread. After this he disposed of his property and other belongings and distributed the money to the poor. He renounced the world and left for Bukhara in search of knowledge and higher education.^[3]

He became the Murid (disciple) of Usman Harooni.

Journeys[link]

This article is part of a series on:
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Moinuddin Chishtī visited the seminaries of Samarkand and Bukhara and acquired religious learning at the feet of eminent scholars of his age. He visited nearly all the great centers of Muslim culture, and acquainted himself with almost every important trend in Muslim religious life in the Middle Ages. He became a disciple of the Chishtī saint 'Uthmān Hārūnī. They travelled the Middle East extensively together, including visits to Mecca and Medina.

Journey to India[link]

Moinuddin Chishtī turned towards India, reputedly after a dream in which Prophet Muhammad blessed him to do so. After a brief stay at Lahore, he reached Ajmer along with Sultan Shahāb-ud-Din Muhammad Ghori, and settled down there. In Ajmer, he attracted a substantial following, acquiring a great deal of respect amongst the residents of the city. Moinuddin Chishtī practiced the Sufi Sulh-e-Kul (peace to all) concept to promote understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Establishing the Chishtī order in India[link]

The Chishtī order was founded by Abu Ishaq Shami (“the Syrian”) in Chisht, some 95 miles east of Herat in present-day western Afghanistan.^[4] Moinuddin Chishti established the order in India, in the city of Ajmer in North India.

Moinuddin Chishti apparently never wrote down his teachings in the form of a book, nor did his immediate disciples, but the central principles that became characteristics of the Chishtī order in India are based on his teachings and practices. They lay stress on renunciation of material goods; strict regime of self-discipline and personal prayer; participation in Samā' as a legitimate means to spiritual transformation; reliance on either cultivation or unsolicited offerings as means of basic subsistence; independence from rulers and the state, including rejection of monetary and land grants; generosity to others, particularly, through sharing of food and wealth, and tolerance and respect for religious differences.

He, in other words, interpreted religion in terms of human service and exhorted his disciples "to develop river-like generosity, sun-like affection and earth-like hospitality." The highest form of devotion, according to him, was "to redress the misery of those in distress – to fulfill the needs of the helpless and to feed the hungry."

It was during the reign of Emperor Akbar (1556–1605) that Ajmer emerged as one of the most important centers of pilgrimage in India. The Mughal Emperor undertook an unceremonial journey on foot to accomplish his wish to reach Ajmer. The Akbarnāmah records that the Emperor's interest first sparked when he heard some minstrels singing songs about the virtues of the Walī (Friend of God) who lay asleep in Ajmer.

Moinuddin Chishtī authored several books including Anīs al-Arwāḥ and Dalīl al-'Ārifīn, both of which deal with the Islamic code of living.

Quṭbuddīn Baktiyār Kākī (d. 1235) and Ḥamīduddīn Nagorī (d. 1276) were Moinuddin Chishtī's celebrated Khalīfas or successors who continued to transmit the teachings of their master through their disciples, leading to the widespread proliferation of the Chishtī Order in India.

Among Quṭbuddīn Baktiyār's prominent disciples was Farīduddīn Ganj-i-Shakar (d. 1265), whose dargāh is at Pakpattan, (Pakistan). Farīduddīn's most famous disciple was Nizāmuddīn Auliyā' (d. 1325) popularly referred to as Mahbūb-e-Ilāhī (God's beloved), whose dargāh is located in South Delhi.

From Delhi, disciples branched out to establish dargāhs in several regions of South Asia, from Sindh in the west to Bengal in the east, and the Deccan in the south. But from all the network of Chishtī dargāhs the Ajmer dargāh took on the special distinction of being the 'mother' dargah of them all.

Dargah Sharif[link]

Dargah of Moinuddin Chishti, Ajmer

Main article: Dargah Sharif

The dargah (shrine) of Chisti, known as Dargah Sharif or Ajmer Sharif is an international wakf (endowment), managed under the 'Dargah Khwaja Saheb Act, 1955' of Government of India. The Dargah Committee, appointed by the Government, manages donations, takes care of the maintenance of the shrine, and runs charitable institutions like dispensaries, and guest houses for the devotees.^[5] The dargah, which is visited by Muslim pilgrims as well as Hindus and Sikhs as a symbol of intercommunal harmony.

In popular culture[link]

His poetry in praise of Imam Hussein ibn Ali is well known, specially the following verse:

Shah Ast Hussein Badshah Ast Hussein

Ruler is Hussain, Emperor is Hussain

Deen Ast Hussein Deen Panah Ast Hussein

Faith is Hussain , guardian of faith is Hussain

Sar dad na daad dast dar dast e yazeed

Offered his head and not the hand to Yazid

Haqaaq e Binaa e Laa iLaha Ast Hussein

Indeed, Hussain is the foundation of La-ilah (the declaration that none but God is Absolute and Almighty)

A Bollywood movie Jodhaa Akbar (2008), directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, includes a qawwālī in praise of Moinuddin Chishti ("Khwāja Mērē Khwāja"). It depicts the Emperor Akbar being moved by the song to join the whirling-dervish-like dance that accompanies the song. The song is composed by A.R. Rahman.

Sufis of the Chishtī order[link]

He had more than one thousand khalīfas and hundreds of thousands of disciples. Sufis of different orders became his disciples and took ijāzah from him. Among the famous Sufis who trace their lineage to him are: Quṭbuddīn Bakhtiyār Kākī, Farīduddīn Mas'ūd, Nizāmuddīn Auliyā', Amir Khusrau, Muhammad Hussain-i Gisūdarāz Bandanawāz, Ashraf Jahāngīr Simnānī, Aṭā' Hussain Fānī and Shāh Jamāl Bābā Bahaya Aurangabadī.

Today, hundreds of thousands of people – Muslims, Hindus, Christians and others, from the Indian sub-continent, and from other parts of the world – assemble at his tomb on the occasion of his 'urs (death anniversary).

An outside view of the Maqbara

Spiritual lineage[link]

1. 'Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib
2. Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī
3. 'Abdul Wāḥid Bin Zaid Abul Faḍl
4. Fuḍayll ibn 'Iyāḍ Bin Mas'ūd Bin Bishr al-Tamīmī
5. Ibrāhīm bin Adham
6. Ḥudhayfah al-Mar'ashī
7. Amīnuddīn Abū Ḥubayrah al-Baṣrī
8. Mumshād Dīnwarī

Start of the Chishtī Order:

1. Abū Isḥāq al-Shāmī
2. Abū Aḥmad Abdāl
3. Abū Muḥammad bin Abī Aḥmad
4. Abū Yūsuf bin Sam'ān al-Ḥusaynī
5. Maudūd Chishtī
6. Sharīf Zandānī
7. 'Uthmān Hārūnī
8. Moinuddin Chishti

Others buried in the Maqbara enclosure[link]

The famous Mughal generals Sheikh Mīr and Shāhnawāz Khān were buried in the enclosure of Moinuddin Chishtī's Maqbara after they died in the Battle of Deorai in 1659. Shāhnawāz Khān was the Emperor Aurangzeb's father-in-law.^[6]

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Media related to Moinuddin Chishti at Wikimedia Commons

• Anees-ul-Arwah by Moinuddin Chishtī

v t e Sufism and Tariqa Ideas Qutb Wali Abdal Fakir Dervish Tazkiah Baqaa Fanaa Haal Keramat Haqiqa Ihsan Irfan Kashf Lataif Manzil Marifa Nafs Noor Sufi cosmology Sufi metaphysics Sufi philosophy Sufi poetry Sufi psychology Sulook Yaqeen Silsila Practices Anasheed Dhikr Haḍra Muraqaba Qawwali Sama Whirling Ziyarat Sufi orders Azeemia Akbarī Alians Ba 'Alawī Bayramī Bektashī Chishtī Galibī Gulshanī Ḥurūfī Idrīsī Jelvetī Jerrahī Khalwatī Kubrāwī Madarī Malāmatī Mawlāwī Mourīdī Naqshbandī Naqshbandi Uwaisī Khalidiyya Nasuhī Ni'matullāhī Nuqtawī Qadirī Qalāndārī Rifa'ī Safāvī Shadhilī Suhrawardī Sunbulī Tijanī Ussakī Uwaisī Zahedī Notable early Sufi saints and mystics Abdul-Qadir Gilanī Abul-Khayr Ahmad Ghazālī Ahmed Yasāvī Al-Ghazālī Al-Hallaj al-Misrī Al-Qāsim al-Qunawī Amīr Kulal Ardabilī Ata Allah Attar Balım Sultan Baha ūd-Dīn Naqshband Bande Nawāz Baqī Billah Bastamī Bhita'ī Bulleh Shah Shah Waliullah Dehlāvī Farīd ūd-Dīn Fozail Gālib Gharīb Nawāz Ghujdawanī Ghulam Farīd Sheik Edebali Gül Baba Hajji Bayram Hajji Bektash Hazrat Mai Safoora Qadiriyya Haddad Hamadānī Hansvī Harabatī Baba Hasan Basri Mahmud Hudayī Hujwirī ibn ʿArabī Jābir ibn Hayyān Jahangasht Jamī Jan-e-Jānāān Jazoulī Junayd Baġdādī Kākī Kaliyarī Karkhī Kharaqanī Kubrā Nāimī Najib al-Suhrawardī Nasīmī Mansur Al-Hallaj Ni'matullāh Nizām ūd-Dīn Nurī Otman Baba Pir Sultan Qutb ūd-Dīn Haydār Rabbānī Rabia Basri Razī Rifa'ī Rukn-e-Alam Rūmī Ibrahim ibn Adham Saadī Salman al-Farisī Sanai Mevlana Halid-i Bagdadi Sarı Saltuk Semnanī Shadhilī Shahāb al-Dīn Suhrawardī Shams Tabrizī Shiblī Shirazī Sultan Walad Surkh Bukhari Taj al-Dīn Gilanī Umar al-Suhrawardī Uwais al-Qarni Yunus Emre Magtymguly Pyragy Zakariya Zarruq Notable modern Sufi saints Auliya Azeemi Nagpuri Meher Ali Sheikh Muhammad Uthman Sirajuddin Qadeer Piya Muhammad Maliki Gohar Shahi Tahir ul-Qadri Tahir Allauddin Taqi Usmani Abdal Hakim Murad Nazim Al-Haqqani Hisham Kabbani Nuh Keller Nooruddeen Durkee Abdalqadir as-Sufi Zaheen Ghulam Mustafa Reshad Feild Ahmad al-Alawi Ashraf Ali Thanvi Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri Omar Shah Haeri Raza Khan Syed Shujaat Pir Zulfiqar Abdullah Naqshbandi Sufi Barkat Ali Hafiz Qamaruddin Saheb Qibla Fultali Feisal Abdul Rauf Osman Nuri Topbaş Sufi studies Aguéli Almqvist Burckhardt Chittick Corbin Ernst Frager Guénon Hixon Lindbom Lings Nasr Schimmel Sells Shah Schuon Topics in Sufism Art Fiction History Music Poetry Shrines Texts Portal

Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan at TAG Heuer Press Conference.
Born	(1965-11-02) 2 November 1965 (age 46) New Delhi, India
Residence	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India[1]
Other names	King Khan, SRK, King of Bollywood, The Baadshah of Bollywood[2]
Occupation	Actor, producer, television presenter
Years active	1988—present
Spouse	Gauri Khan (1991—present)
Children	2

Shahrukh Khan (pronounced [‘ʃaːɦrəx ˈxaːn]; born 2 November 1965), often credited as Shah Rukh Khan and informally referred to as SRK, is an Indian film actor. Known as "The King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films.^[3][4][5] He has won fourteen Filmfare Awards from thirty nominations for his work in Indian films and shares the record for the highest number of Best Actor awards with Dilip Kumar, eight wins. In 2005, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in economics, he started his career appearing in theatre and several television serials in the late 1980s and later made his Hindi film debut in 1992 with Deewana. Early in his career he was recognised for his unconventional choice of negative roles in films such as Darr (1993), Baazigar (1993) and Anjaam (1994). Since then he has played leading roles in a wide variety of film genres, including romantic films, comedies, thrillers, action films, sport films, and historical dramas among others.

Eleven of the films he has acted in have accumulated gross earnings of over 1 billion (US$19.95 million).^[6] Khan's films such as Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Devdas (2002), Chak De! India (2007), Om Shanti Om (2007), Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), and Ra.One (2011) remain some of Bollywood's biggest hits, while films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), My Name Is Khan (2010), and Don 2 (2011) have been top-grossing Indian productions in the overseas markets thus making him one of the most successful leading actors of Hindi cinema.^[7]

In addition to movie acting, Khan is a television presenter, a regular stage performer, and a social activist. He is the founder/owner of two production companies: Dreamz Unlimited and Red Chillies Entertainment and, along with actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta, the owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders. Khan is considered to be one of the biggest movie stars in history, with a fan following claimed to number in the billions.^[3][8] He has an estimated net worth of over 25 billion (US$540 million).^[9][10] In 2008, Newsweek named Khan one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.^[3]