This work is a comparative study of two Sufi shrines, one located in Delhi, and the other, at Panipat (Haryana), which are affiliated to an antinomian order known as the Qalandar. Antinomian groups do not follow the Islamic tenets as enshrined in the Shariat, and that is why they are called Beshara ('without the law'). Sufi orders following the Shariat are known as Bashara ('with law'). Although the Beshara are divided into a large number of groups, most of which have disappeared with the passage of time, the group that has caught social imagery in India (and also, South Asia) is of the Qalandars. This study, conducted from the perspective of historical anthropology, combining the first-hand fieldwork with a study of historical documents, shows that the Qalandar saints deviated considerably from the cultural practices for which they were infamous. Being Qalandar, therefore, was more a matter of 'mind' and 'thought' than of 'living' in that way. The shrines chosen for study are of Abu Bakr (in Delhi) and Bu Mi (in Panipat). The study compares their respective histories and social organizations, submitting that when Sufi shrines are Waqf managed, then they are far more Islamized than otherwise.
