Sakhi Sarwar (Lakhdata Pir)
Saint whose shrine in the Sulaiman foothills near Dera Ghazi Khan drew vast numbers of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim pilgrims. His followers, the Sultanis, were found across Punjab before 1947.
Syed Ahmad, known as Sakhi Sarwar, 'the generous saint', or Lakhdata, 'giver of lakhs', was a Sufi of the twelfth century born near Multan who settled at Nigaha in the Sulaiman foothills near Dera Ghazi Khan.
His cult spread across the Punjab and became one of the most popular in the region, followed by Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs alike, who called themselves Sultanis. Pilgrims walked to his shrine each spring, and every village had a small shrine to him.
The Singh Sabha movement of the late nineteenth century campaigned against Sikhs worshipping at his shrines, and after 1947 his cult largely disappeared from East Punjab.