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Chapter introduces the different forms of activity and manifestation of the Ahl-i Hadīth (lit. people of the tradition) in India and Pakistan. In doctrinal terms, the group constitutes a radical purist sect of Sunni Islam, emphasizing the relevance of the Qur’ān and the Hadīth, the Prophetic tradition, and rejecting adherence (taqlīd) to the established Islamic law schools. In social terms, it actively engaged in social and educational reforms among Muslims to render their lives in conformity with the dictates of original Islam as they perceived it. In political terms, leading members of the groups have been mobilising public opinion in their favour more decisively since the 1930s. The Ahl-i Hadīth continued their pro-active engagement in the public sphere in independent Pakistan, particularly during the Islamist administration of Zīa-ul-Haq from 1977 to 1988. The movement has a long-standing engagement with Islamic militancy as it developed over time in the name of the Indian Wahhābīs. Whereas the founding fathers of the Ahl-i Hadīth strove to set themselves apart from this militant legacy, as a result of which the group’s designation came into usage, militant activity engineered by a section of the Ahl-i Hadīth became more pronounced after the introduction of two offshoots in 1989, the Da‘wat al-Irshād (DI), a religious mission and propagation centre, and the Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT – “pious soldiers”), representing the militant wing of the DI. Since then, the LeT has become known for its involvement in jihād’ activity in Kashmir and Afghanistan, as well as in Pakistan. The evolution of the movement suggests that a multipolar approach is required to understand its different aspects and roles.