Hur’s Resistance against the British Raj in the Light of Khaldunian Idea of Al-Asabiya

Abstract

The paper focuses on understanding the resistance of the Hur community to British colonialism and uses Al-Asabiya (social solidarity) of Ibn Khaldun as a key analytical tool in this process. It claims that Khaldun's theory offers a useful lens to examine the sociological development of collective identity, religious dedication, and social cohesion that served the Hur movement to sustain its prolonged campaign of anti-colonial struggle in Sindh. The study starts by outlining the concept of ‘al-asabiya’ in Khaldun's perspective, which can be based on blood or ideology and which is significant for the emergence, maintenance, and degradation of societies and political rule. Following this theoretical ground, the paper examines the history of the Hur community and its unity under the leadership of Pirs Pagara, establishing that it was an ideological rather than kinship-based solidarity. The study shows how common religious beliefs, disciplined organisation, loyalty to leadership, and a shared commitment to colonial resistance brought different social groups together to form a resistance movement. The importance of the Hur organizational structure and principles and of the Hur collective consciousness is highlighted as one reason for their resilience in the face of the continued British repression of this community, including criminalization, surveillance, and military operations. It also illustrates how the community’s orientation, religious ideology, and institutional management supported the community's unity and helped the movement endure for over a hundred years. The paper further examines how historical facts and evidence are combined with Khaldunian social theory to prove that the ideology of al-asabiya still prevailed in the resistance of the Hur and the continuity of the leadership of their Pagara. It ends by alluding to the long-term meanings of Khaldun's theory in a study of anti-colonialist movements, identity formation, and the interplay of social solidarity with political resistance in the Hur case. The paper thus contributes to the understanding of the intellectual and historical contours of resistance against the colonial power of the rulers in colonial Sindh and also reaffirms the explanatory power of classical Islamic social thought in explaining modern historical events.