 In historical terms, the rise of Sufism and the Bhakti cult during the medieval period led to the fusion of a common cultural heritage, encompassing what was to emerge as Indian-ness later. Khaja Moynuddin Chishti founded the Chishtia Order in India in 1236 AD. The Dargah in Ajmer is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike. Amir Khustur Jana of Kavali is popular to this day and is patronized by Hindus and Muslims alike. Bharad Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan, the Shanay Maestro, is a devotee of music and lives by the Vishwanath Temple in Banaras. These strands, traceable to the classics, are borrowings and adaptations from ancient temple music. The Vadaali brothers of Punjab are completely influenced by the Sufi traditions. Amjad Ali Khan, the Sarod Maestro, kept up the tradition handed over to him by his illustrious father, late Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan. Sufism is actually a branch, you can say, of mystic Islam. Sufism, because it's always on the margins, certain sects in Islam forbid even music. So one must say that Sufism and Islam are not the same, yet they are not different either. Sufi and Bhakti, of course, have a lot of similar attributes. At many levels, from Drupad music to the Kirtan music, Sufis were influenced by all sorts of music. You can see this in the music of Hazrat Amir Khusro and later musicians who embraced the folk culture of India and took a lot from it. What is particular and specific to the Indian Muslim is something that is not found outside. Even within India, the South Indian Muslim is so different from the North Indian Muslim. And you will see when you go abroad that the Gujarati Hindu and Gujarati Muslim will be happily chatting. So it's something that is area specific and atmosphere specific. And obviously the Malaysian Muslim will be different from the Indian Muslim. But yes, it is a fact that because it's a religion that spreads across the world, they have a common religious identity. And that is going to be something that will stay with them because they have a single book, they have a single philosophy, they have a single ideology of their religion with area specifications and variations that will come into play. But the broad pattern will remain the same. The pole of gloom that surrounded the Indian Muslims at the advent of independence is a thing of the past. The clouds have lifted steadily and surely. This is a tribute to the founding fathers of India's secularism and all those who made India great and strong. The Indian Muslims have left the better memories behind, marching hand in hand with their other compatriots as equal partners in the great endeavor of nation building to ensure a brighter future for themselves as for all other countrymen.