The shrine of Baba Shadi Shaheed, known in old records as Sur Sadi Shahid, stands at Jandi Chontra in Bhimber District, on the road towards the Samahni valley. It is the resting place of Raja Shadab Khan, also called Sandeep Chand or Raja Dharam Chand, the son of Raja Gor Paal Chand and the Chib ruler who embraced Islam in the early Mughal period. You can read his story in Baba Shadi Shaheed: The Chib Raja Who Embraced Islam.
The first haircut
The shrine has always been the spiritual home of the Chib clan. Historians of the Punjab recorded a custom that marked every Chib boy: a lock of his hair was kept uncut from birth until his family brought him to the shrine, where it was cut off with much ceremony. Until then, it was said, a boy could not be counted a true Chib. Many families still bring their children to Jandi Chontra to give thanks for their birth.
A shrine for all
Baba Shadi Shaheed is honoured far beyond his own clan. Even a century ago the shrine was described as a place of pilgrimage for Muslims and Hindus alike, and today visitors of every background come to pray there. Many believe that prayers made at Jandi Chontra are answered for couples who long for children.
The annual urs
Each year an urs is held at the shrine, bringing Chib families and devotees from across Azad Kashmir, the Punjab and overseas together for prayers, recitation and a traditional mela. In recent years it has been held in the winter months. Watch our Gatherings & Events section for this year’s dates.
Sources
- J. Hutchison and J. Ph. Vogel, History of the Panjab Hill States, vol. II (Lahore, 1933), “Bhimbar and Khari-Khariyali”, pp. 725–729.
- H. A. Rose, A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province, vol. II (Lahore, 1911), “Chibh”, pp. 169–170.
- Shajra-e-Nasab (family tree) of the Chib Rajputs of Malot, Azad Kashmir.