At last count there were a total of 2,717 shrines in India while in Pakistan that figure was 3400. These are the well-known ones otherwise the figure might be much higher if smaller less known shrines that can be found in almost every corner of the country are also counted.

These are the shrines where the birth and passing away of the saint buried in that shrine are celebrated and observed respectively on a national and even international level as devotees come from the four corners of the world to participate.

In India, among the more well-known shrines is the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai. It was constructed in 1431 in memory of a wealthy Muslim merchant, Sayyed Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, who gave up all his worldly possessions before making a pilgrimage to Makkah. Haji Ali Dargah is his tomb and Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (R.A.) is considered the patron saint of Mumbai.

It is not without reason that Pir Bukhari is revered as patron saint of Mumbai. The reason is more or less the same as that which places the Shrine of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi as a protector of the city of Karachi. It is widely believed that no disastrous cyclone will ever hit Karachi as long as the Shrine of Shah Ghazi stands on the........

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