Nizamuddin Kianwi

Nizamuddin Kianwi (died 31 July 1895) was a Naqshbandi Sufi of Kiyan Sharif in the Neelam Valley, known to devotees as Bawaji Sarkar. His Urdu biography counts him among the elders of the Naqshbandiyya in Kashmir, records his initiation and his long retreats at Kiyan Sharif, and tells of preaching journeys across Asia and fifteen years in Abyssinia.¹ Among his khalifas it names Baba Ji Larvi, through whom his line took root at Wangat in the Kashmir Valley.¹

He died at Kiyan Sharif on 8 Safar 1313 AH, the date his biography pairs with 31 July 1895, leaving four sons and a shrine that still draws murids from across Asia and Europe.¹ His urs is kept each June at Baba Nagri, Wangat, by the Larvi sajjada nashins; Kashmir Uzma's report of the 122nd urs, in June 2017, styles him Nizamuddin Kianvi Naqshbandi and describes thousands of devotees at the three-day observance.²