View allAll Photos Tagged gujranwala
You rub your palm
On the grimy pane
In the hope that you can see
You stand up proud
You pretend you're strong
In the hope that you can be
Like the ones who've cried
Like the ones who've died
Trying to set the angel in us free
While they're waiting for a miracle
Nizam Pur Villag
Is a small village on Gujranwala Sialkot Road. This photo was captured early morning.
Baddoki Gosaian is one of the largest and most historically significant villages of the Gujranwala District. It was a home to Hindus (mostly belonging to the Gosain community), Sikhs and Muslims before the Partition of India. In 1947, several Hindu and Sikh families migrated from Baddoki Gosaian to India and similarly from India several Muslim families migrated to the village. Migrant families still use the homes and lands of those who emigrated from the village.
Baddoki Gosaian is the birthplace of Sidh Baba Sai Das, founder of the Gosain/Goswami community contemporary to Baba Nanak Dev. It had a big square shaped tank with a temple in the center with a tree of berries
It is Shiv Mandir and Mandir name is Tomri Sahib its built by Sikh,s Not by Hindu .Tomri Sahib is large complex of Holly pont and side rooms and 2 ponds. For entrance 10 stairs around the pond and stairs are still there . Mandir have to many side buildings like dharamshala and living rooms and Sikh Samadhi and other features remains still there . Like other temple or Mandir Banyan tree also close to the Mandir .
Tomri sahib Mandir have no any primary sources to know who built this but one thing is very clear Tomri Sahib not name in Hindus but in Sahib mostly use in Sikh names with saints or Guru or any Baba ji . It is different then other Mandirs because no Mandir have large pond in this area and walk way built on beautiful 8 arches and all arches are still there . . All places and Mandir construct by small bricks and some work of white marble.
Kot Abdullah is a small village located some 42 kms on Narowal Murideke road. A 5 km village road in North West direction connects Kot Abdullah to village Kotli Maqbara. Further half kilometer northeast of Kotli Maqbra, a magnificent Octagonal Mughal edifice raised from ground having four minarets on each side. This edifice is Mausoleum of “Abdul Nabi”. Like all other historical buildings in country same vandalism found here. The story of ignorance and negligence towards historical heritage. A marvelous Architecture but it is almost collapsing right now.
Aown Ali is a key member of Oriental architecture for Pakistan, Aown in his article, Who lies Beneath Kotli maqbr? That is written:
“This beautiful Mughal monument has not received any attention from British historians and archaeologists and this disinterest continued in the post partition era, eventually leading to its dilapidation.
The minarets are quite similar to the early 17th century buildings like Jahangir Tomb, Dai Anga Mosque and the Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore. The arched entrance to the underground grave chamber is on the southern side, with three graves wrapped in green silk sheets that bear Islamic inscriptions on them.”
Also great historian Sir Salman Rashid in his blog, How a Saint is Born, Published in The Express Tribune, August 11th, 2012 that is written:
“….Wahndo in Gujranwala district is famous only for lawlessness. But there is, near this town, the small village of Kotli Maqbara with an imposing domed Mughal structure in the fields outside the habitation. The ground floor is plain while the basement has three graves. Its minarets recall those of Chauburji in Lahore and, therefore, give us a date of construction.
In November 1991, when I was working on my book on Gujranwala, I thought I had discovered a monument that had escaped the official eye. But my mentor Dr Saifur Rahman Dar told me that this building was mid-17th century and housed the mortal remains of Divan Abdul Nabi Khan, the governor of Wazirabad, successively under Shah Jehan andAurangzeb.
On my first visit, I was told that the building was raised by jinns and was locally known as Deo Minara — Minaret of the Jinn. No one knew who was interred within and the usual refrain was, ‘It’s been there since the time of our grandfathers and nobody knows anything about it.’ In Punjabi plain-speak, this means it could either be millions of years old or one hundred.
There was one interesting story in November 1991: a woman had, of late, started to visit the mausoleum. She dismounted from her escort’s motorcycle some ways away and came dancing to the tomb where she did all sorts of genuflexions at the subterranean graves. She told the people that a vision in her dream had informed her that these three were great heroes of Islam, who had come from Arabia and whose exertions had done much for religion in the heathen land of India. My investigations revealed that this seer of visions was a superannuated dancing woman and prostitute from Chhicherwali, a village outside Gujranwala.
Exactly a year later, November 1992, I took a bunch of college students from Lahore to Kotli Maqbara. Some local hangers-on warned me this being the hallowed burial of a great man of God, we could not go in with our shoes on. We went in nevertheless.
Done with our excursion, our bunch was at the nearby hand pump where we were joined by a group of young men from the village. I was telling the kids about Abdul Nabi Khan when one of the locals interrupted me. What on earth was I babbling on about, he demanded to know. Everyone knew that the tomb housed three saints. The man also said I could believe what I wanted, but everyone knew how supplication at the tomb was answered quickly.
Since when, I asked. And the answer: “This has always happened since the time of our grandfathers. Everyone knows of it.” However, none of the locals could give us the saints’ names.
Nine years later, in early 2001, I returned to Kotli Maqbara. The entrance to the underground burial chamber was now draped with the signature green satin of holy Islamic burials. The new steel signboard had names: Hazrat Pir Makki Shah and Hazrat Pir Atray Shah. The first one was understandable: you want to create a saint, just name him Makki Shah — from Mecca — and you get a ready-made saint. The second name was inexplicable and the third was evidently under consideration.
I went into the village and asked around. Of course, the names had been known since the time of the grandfathers. If no one remembered what the past was like only a year after it had been reinvented, it was foolish to imagine they would now want to recall the time before 1991, 10 years later.
There were stories about how supplicants’ wishes simply came true as soon as they put their foreheads to the ground in front of the graves. Now people took off their shoes about a hundred metres from the plinth of the building. There was a weekly Thursday festival and an annual ursto celebrate the death of Makki Shah. No prizes for guessing who took the pickings from the business: none but the woman from Chhicherwali, who had retired from selling her virtue — though, if she had any is questionable.
Strange place, Pakistan. Tell the truth and watch it rejected; whisper some inane notion to the winds and it becomes gospel.”http://aliusmanbaig.blogspot.com/2016/01/kotli-maqbara-moselousm-of-abdul-nabi.html
Clock Tower, Gujranwala is one of the oldest monuments still standing from the period of the British Raj. It was built by the British government in 1901-1906, when they ruled most of the South Asia during the nineteenth century.
The photo is taken in Gujranwala, when I was visiting the Vegetable market. I was setting up my Camera on tripod for the shot of the Crates for a background, At that time the old man came and pass the road and I shot this frame!Such a perfect moment. Life is full of desires but we obtain some only.
(References:- K. Lal in his book Tarekh e Punjab & The crumbling glory of Sheikhupura Fort by Aown Ali)
In West Punjab (now in Pakistan), the town of Sheikhupura (about 35 km west of Lahore) is hailed a center of historically significant architecture.
The Hiran Minar (Minaret of the Antelope) and the Sheikhupura Fort make this stop a focal point of interest.
The town, now a district headquarters and one of the major industrial cities of Punjab, has grown from a village, originally called “Jahangirpura” when it was settled during the reign of the Mughal emperor, Jahangir, because of its proximity to Hiran Minar, a royal hunting resort.
The primary historical importance of the city relates to its Fort. It lays no claim to grandeur. Locally known as Qila Sheikhupura, it has gave its name to the town as well.
Construction of the fort began in the second year of Jahangir’s reign (1607). The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (autobiography of Jahangir) mentions that the emperor assigned the job of constructing a fort at that location to Sikandar Moeen during a hunting trip to Hiran Minar.
The two centuries that followed were mostly uneventful for the Fort. Neither a seat of government nor a target for invaders, it remained but a halt for imperial entourages heading on pleasure trips to Kashmir in the north, or towards Kabul in the west.
The Fort’s political importance did not emerge until the establishment of the Sikh Empire at the end of the 18th century.
A veteran historian and archeologist, Ihsan H. Nadiem, tells us that immediately before the consolidation of Punjab under the Sikhs, the Fort served as a convenient place for robbers looting the countryside.
The Durrani king, Shah Zaman, during his invasion of Lahore in 1797, briefly besieged the Fort, but only to purge it of the robbers. Soon after his departure, the Fort was once again occupied by the highwaymen.
Shortly thereafter, Lehna Singh Majithia (who also served as the Governor of Lahore. The son of General Lehna Singh, Sardar Dyal Singh, was perhaps the most significant Punjabi of the late 19th century in the British Punjab. He was the main force behind the founding of Punjab University), an ally of Ranjit Singh, invaded the fort and took occupation. After him, its ownership passed on to Bhai Singh, followed by Sahib Singh and Sahai Singh in 1808, at which point Ranjit Singh marched upon it and caused its surrender.
This whole story of Sheikhupura raid wrote by Hindu writer K. Lal in his book Tarekh e Punjab (Page 196-197) and it is as under:
“Mahraja Ranjeet was busy in handling state affairs, in the meantime a group of farmers belong to Sheikhpura came to his door, they wanted to seek help against brutal Sikh rulers Sardar Arbel Singh & Sardar Ameer Singh. These Sardars had occupied the Sheikhupura fort and land, there army looting common people up to that level that they were dying of hunger. That group of farmer said the people of Sheikhupura accepted the over lordship of the Maharaja and requested to take their territory under Mahraja rule and control to protect them from these two brutal Sardars.
Mahraja accepted the request and assigned his eldest son, the crown prince, Kharak Singh for Sheikhupura fort Campaign. He reached Sheikhupura; he has four thousand army troops and support of one Cannon artillery.
Sheikhupura fort was very well constructed with strong fortified walls, Mahraja himself selected best cannons from his cannon yard for this campaign and also assign one of his best army officer Sardar Hakma Singh for assisting Crown prince Kharak Singh in this campaign.
When this troop reached Sheikhupura, Crown Prince Kharak Singh called both the ruling Sardar’s to him, but instead of appearing in front of Prince they have further fortified the fort and get ready for war.
The Prince first sieges the fort and then orders Canon artillery to start fire on fort walls. The fort walls were strongly fortified and hold the Cannon artillery attack for days.
This result less campaign made Prince to think if he wanted to win this fight he has to reinforce his troops and artillery as well. For that purpose he wrote for help to his father Mahraja Ranjit Singh. When Maharaja saw this letter he got angry, he ordered to send biggest cannon of his artillery the Ahmad Shahi Gun. Which he forcefully took from Saheb Singh Guajarati)
(Ahmad Shahi Gun also known as zamzama gun…, The Zamzama Gun is a large bore cannon. It is also known as Kim’s Gun or Bhangianwali Taop. It was cast in 1757 in Lahore. At that time Lahore was a part of the Durrani Empire. The gun was used by Ahmed Shah in the battle of Panipat in 1761. In 1802, Ranjit Singh got hold of the gun and used it in the battles of Daska, Kasur, Sujanpur, Wazirabad and Multan. In the siege of Multan, the gun was badly damaged. It is currently on display in front of the Lahore Museum at The Mall Road, Lahore.)
The Maharaja also reached the Sheikhupura Fort with fresh troops and again the battle started.
After two days of fight, Maharaja ordered to place Ahmed Shah Gun in front of Main gate of Fort. It was tough task and took many lives of soldiers but at last it was placed there. Hundred rounds of guns were fired and main gate of fort completely destroyed. The Mahraja troops entered the fort and raise the winning flag on wall. Both Arbel & Ameer Singh were arrested.
Since the area of Sheikhupura won in name of Crown Prince Kharak Singh, the fort and “Jageer” of Sheikhupura bestowed to Prince by his father Mahraja Ranjeet Singh under the primacy of her mother Rani Datar Kaur (1801-1840), the mother of the crown prince, Kharak Singh. She was also known as Rani Raj Kaur or Mai Nakkain. She lived in the Fort till her death.”
She had a considerable role in the rehabilitation of this small, strategically unimportant and hitherto almost abandoned citadel. She built a wonderful haveli within it. The excellent frescoes in the distinctive Kangra style found in the parlour and in the two chambers on the first floor of this haveli, are attributed to Raj Kaur‘s excellent taste.
In mid-19th century, when the British invaded Punjab, they used the Fort to imprison the Sikh kingdom’s Regent, Rani Jind Kaur – “Jindaa(n)” - after taking her son, the child Emperor Duleep Singh, prisoner.
In a letter dated August 9, 1847 Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence, the British Resident in Punjab suggested to the Governor General that the Queen be banished from Punjab, to prevent the populace from rising under banner.
The 8-year old Emperor was removed from his palace in the Lahore Fort on August 19, 1847, and taken to the Shalimar Gardens, while his mother, the Queen, was confined to the distant Sheikhupura Fort.
Historian Himadri Banerjee describes how Jindaan was forcibly removed from Lahore between 8 and 9 pm under a heavy military escort. Accompanied by Sardar Arjan Singh Rangharnanglia and Gurmukh Singh Lamma, she was lodged in Sheikhupura Fort in the early hours of Friday, August 20, 1847, under the charge of Sardar Boor Singh.
Soon after her arrival at Sheikhupura, she wrote the following letter to the Resident at Lahore, protesting the ruthless separation from her young eight-year old.
With the Grace of the Great Guru
From Bibi Sahib to Lawrence Sahib,
We have arrived safely at Sheikhupura, You should send our luggage with care, As I was sitting in the Samman (Burj - Palace in Lahore Fort), in the same way I am in Sheikhupura. Both the places are same to me; you have been very cruel to me. You have snatched my son from me … In the name of the God you worship and in the name of the king whose salt you eat, restore my son to me. I cannot bear the pain of this separation … I shall reside in Sheikhupura. I shall not go to Lahore. Send my son to me. I will come to you at Lahore only during the days when you hold darbar. On that day I will send him. A great deal (of injustice) has been done to me. A great deal (of injustice) has been done to my son also. You have accepted what other people have said. Put an end to it now. Too much has been done.
The Queen resided in the Sheikhupura Fort for nine months. On the afternoon of May 15, 1848, she was taken away, to be imprisoned in Chunar Fort, near Benares (in current day Uttar Pradesh, India). She made a dramatic escape from there and fled to Nepal, where she remained until, years later, almost blind and dying, was finally allowed to visit her son, who was by then exiled in England.
The Sheikhupura Fort was thus witness to a number of crucial turning points during the half-century of the Sikh Raj.
The Empire had held played a crucial role as a bulwark against ongoing invasions through the subcontinent’s porous western borders. At its peak, it held sway from Tibet in the east to the Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north and to Sindh in the south. It also, while Ranjit Singh was alive, kept the British at bay, even though the rest of the subcontinent had collapsed under them like a row of dominoes.
After the annexation of Punjab, the Sheikhupura Fort was temporarily used as administrative headquarters of the Gujranwala district from 1849 to 1851. However, upon the transfer of the district headquarters to Gujranwala town, it was turned into a military outpost.
After a split of administration jurisdictions in 1918, a new district was created in Sheikhupura. The Fort then passed on to house the police headquarters of the newly created district.
After the partition of Punjab and India in 1947, it was briefly used by the immigrants from East Punjab (by then in the newly-created India) as shelter, and
later by encroachers, from whom it came into the possession of the Department of Archaeology of Pakistan in 1967.
Within the complex, no building from the Mughal period is left standing, except the main entrance façade. There are also some remains of sandstone columns depicting the history of the laying of the foundations of the Sheikhupura Fort.
Today, what we can see standing, although dilapidated, is a crumbling six-storey haveli, identical to the haveli of Naunihal Singh, which is situated inside Mori Gate in Lahore.
The most vibrant aspect of the beauty of the haveli in the Sheikhupura Fort is its frescoes.
Sadly, precious wooden doors, windows and parts of the roof have already been whisked away by raiders and the haveli has turned into a haunted house.
Inside the ruins and rooms occupied by bats, we can still find signs of the former lifestyle through colourful and thematic paintings and other art work in the Kangra style. Fresco art work in the haveli of Raj Kaur portrays almost all aspects of daily life – ranging from worship to romantic love to military life. Colors are still vivid, the art work is glittering, but the haveli is now, due to institutional neglect, close to the end of its physical life.
Despite its poor condition, no contractor or labourer agrees to work as it is believed the fort is haunted by ghosts of the queens which used to live there.
This fort is closed to the public due to its bad structural condition; it took me at least three years to take permission to visit this place.
Mahan Singh Sukerchakia (d. 1792), was the Son of Sardar Charat Singh Sukkarchakia (d. 1770), and Mai Desan (d. 1778). He had a Sister named Raj Kaur, who later got married to Sardar Sahib Singh Dhillon (d. 1811), of Bhangi Misl.
He was married to Bibi Raj Kaur, the daughter of Rajah Gajpat Singh (d. 1789), a Sidhu Jatt of the royal Phulkian Jind State. His second marriage was to Bibi Mai Kaur, the daughter of Sardar Jai Singh, a Maan Jatt chieftain of village Mughal Chak, near Gujranwala, where the HQ of Mahan Singh was located. Bibi Raj Kaur, gave birth, to Ranjit Singh in 1780, at Gujranwala, who was destined to become the Sikh ruler of the Punjab, in 1799. Bibi Mai Kaur, also gave birth to a Son, he became the foster brother of Ranjit Singh.
Mahan Singh as the new leader of the Sukerchakia Misl he captured the Rohtas Fort from Nur ud-Din Bamezai, a general of Ahmad Shah Durrani. With the help of Jai Singh Kanheya he laid a four month siege to Rasool Nagar and captured the city from Pir Mohammed, its Chattha leader. The reputation he gained as a result of the siege led to Sardars loyal to the Bhangi Misl defecting to him He continued to expand his territory and captured Pindi Bhattian, Sahiwal, Isakhel, Kotli Loharan, and Jhang. In 1784-5, He used a feud between rulers to raid Jammu, but because he gained a great degree of wealth without sharing or informing his partner Jai Singh Kanheya, Jai Singh refused his attempts to reconcile. Maha Singh then created an alliance with Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and defeated the Kanheya Misl at the Battle of Batala. During the Battle of Batala Jai Singh Kanheya's son and successor, Gurbaksh Singh Kanheya, was killed.
His widow, Sada Kaur betrothed her daughter to Ranjit Singh, Maha Singh's Son. Sada Kaur would later succeed to the leadership of the Kanheya Misl and aided Ranjit Singh in his early victories. In 1792, he died during the siege of Sodhra in Gujranwala, which was being occupied by the Bhangi Misl.
(References:- K. Lal in his book Tarekh e Punjab & The crumbling glory of Sheikhupura Fort by Aown Ali)
In West Punjab (now in Pakistan), the town of Sheikhupura (about 35 km west of Lahore) is hailed a center of historically significant architecture.
The Hiran Minar (Minaret of the Antelope) and the Sheikhupura Fort make this stop a focal point of interest.
The town, now a district headquarters and one of the major industrial cities of Punjab, has grown from a village, originally called “Jahangirpura” when it was settled during the reign of the Mughal emperor, Jahangir, because of its proximity to Hiran Minar, a royal hunting resort.
The primary historical importance of the city relates to its Fort. It lays no claim to grandeur. Locally known as Qila Sheikhupura, it has gave its name to the town as well.
Construction of the fort began in the second year of Jahangir’s reign (1607). The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (autobiography of Jahangir) mentions that the emperor assigned the job of constructing a fort at that location to Sikandar Moeen during a hunting trip to Hiran Minar.
The two centuries that followed were mostly uneventful for the Fort. Neither a seat of government nor a target for invaders, it remained but a halt for imperial entourages heading on pleasure trips to Kashmir in the north, or towards Kabul in the west.
The Fort’s political importance did not emerge until the establishment of the Sikh Empire at the end of the 18th century.
A veteran historian and archeologist, Ihsan H. Nadiem, tells us that immediately before the consolidation of Punjab under the Sikhs, the Fort served as a convenient place for robbers looting the countryside.
The Durrani king, Shah Zaman, during his invasion of Lahore in 1797, briefly besieged the Fort, but only to purge it of the robbers. Soon after his departure, the Fort was once again occupied by the highwaymen.
Shortly thereafter, Lehna Singh Majithia (who also served as the Governor of Lahore. The son of General Lehna Singh, Sardar Dyal Singh, was perhaps the most significant Punjabi of the late 19th century in the British Punjab. He was the main force behind the founding of Punjab University), an ally of Ranjit Singh, invaded the fort and took occupation. After him, its ownership passed on to Bhai Singh, followed by Sahib Singh and Sahai Singh in 1808, at which point Ranjit Singh marched upon it and caused its surrender.
This whole story of Sheikhupura raid wrote by Hindu writer K. Lal in his book Tarekh e Punjab (Page 196-197) and it is as under:
“Mahraja Ranjeet was busy in handling state affairs, in the meantime a group of farmers belong to Sheikhpura came to his door, they wanted to seek help against brutal Sikh rulers Sardar Arbel Singh & Sardar Ameer Singh. These Sardars had occupied the Sheikhupura fort and land, there army looting common people up to that level that they were dying of hunger. That group of farmer said the people of Sheikhupura accepted the over lordship of the Maharaja and requested to take their territory under Mahraja rule and control to protect them from these two brutal Sardars.
Mahraja accepted the request and assigned his eldest son, the crown prince, Kharak Singh for Sheikhupura fort Campaign. He reached Sheikhupura; he has four thousand army troops and support of one Cannon artillery.
Sheikhupura fort was very well constructed with strong fortified walls, Mahraja himself selected best cannons from his cannon yard for this campaign and also assign one of his best army officer Sardar Hakma Singh for assisting Crown prince Kharak Singh in this campaign.
When this troop reached Sheikhupura, Crown Prince Kharak Singh called both the ruling Sardar’s to him, but instead of appearing in front of Prince they have further fortified the fort and get ready for war.
The Prince first sieges the fort and then orders Canon artillery to start fire on fort walls. The fort walls were strongly fortified and hold the Cannon artillery attack for days.
This result less campaign made Prince to think if he wanted to win this fight he has to reinforce his troops and artillery as well. For that purpose he wrote for help to his father Mahraja Ranjit Singh. When Maharaja saw this letter he got angry, he ordered to send biggest cannon of his artillery the Ahmad Shahi Gun. Which he forcefully took from Saheb Singh Guajarati)
(Ahmad Shahi Gun also known as zamzama gun…, The Zamzama Gun is a large bore cannon. It is also known as Kim’s Gun or Bhangianwali Taop. It was cast in 1757 in Lahore. At that time Lahore was a part of the Durrani Empire. The gun was used by Ahmed Shah in the battle of Panipat in 1761. In 1802, Ranjit Singh got hold of the gun and used it in the battles of Daska, Kasur, Sujanpur, Wazirabad and Multan. In the siege of Multan, the gun was badly damaged. It is currently on display in front of the Lahore Museum at The Mall Road, Lahore.)
The Maharaja also reached the Sheikhupura Fort with fresh troops and again the battle started.
After two days of fight, Maharaja ordered to place Ahmed Shah Gun in front of Main gate of Fort. It was tough task and took many lives of soldiers but at last it was placed there. Hundred rounds of guns were fired and main gate of fort completely destroyed. The Mahraja troops entered the fort and raise the winning flag on wall. Both Arbel & Ameer Singh were arrested.
Since the area of Sheikhupura won in name of Crown Prince Kharak Singh, the fort and “Jageer” of Sheikhupura bestowed to Prince by his father Mahraja Ranjeet Singh under the primacy of her mother Rani Datar Kaur (1801-1840), the mother of the crown prince, Kharak Singh. She was also known as Rani Raj Kaur or Mai Nakkain. She lived in the Fort till her death.”
She had a considerable role in the rehabilitation of this small, strategically unimportant and hitherto almost abandoned citadel. She built a wonderful haveli within it. The excellent frescoes in the distinctive Kangra style found in the parlour and in the two chambers on the first floor of this haveli, are attributed to Raj Kaur‘s excellent taste.
In mid-19th century, when the British invaded Punjab, they used the Fort to imprison the Sikh kingdom’s Regent, Rani Jind Kaur – “Jindaa(n)” - after taking her son, the child Emperor Duleep Singh, prisoner.
In a letter dated August 9, 1847 Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence, the British Resident in Punjab suggested to the Governor General that the Queen be banished from Punjab, to prevent the populace from rising under banner.
The 8-year old Emperor was removed from his palace in the Lahore Fort on August 19, 1847, and taken to the Shalimar Gardens, while his mother, the Queen, was confined to the distant Sheikhupura Fort.
Historian Himadri Banerjee describes how Jindaan was forcibly removed from Lahore between 8 and 9 pm under a heavy military escort. Accompanied by Sardar Arjan Singh Rangharnanglia and Gurmukh Singh Lamma, she was lodged in Sheikhupura Fort in the early hours of Friday, August 20, 1847, under the charge of Sardar Boor Singh.
Soon after her arrival at Sheikhupura, she wrote the following letter to the Resident at Lahore, protesting the ruthless separation from her young eight-year old.
With the Grace of the Great Guru
From Bibi Sahib to Lawrence Sahib,
We have arrived safely at Sheikhupura, You should send our luggage with care, As I was sitting in the Samman (Burj - Palace in Lahore Fort), in the same way I am in Sheikhupura. Both the places are same to me; you have been very cruel to me. You have snatched my son from me … In the name of the God you worship and in the name of the king whose salt you eat, restore my son to me. I cannot bear the pain of this separation … I shall reside in Sheikhupura. I shall not go to Lahore. Send my son to me. I will come to you at Lahore only during the days when you hold darbar. On that day I will send him. A great deal (of injustice) has been done to me. A great deal (of injustice) has been done to my son also. You have accepted what other people have said. Put an end to it now. Too much has been done.
The Queen resided in the Sheikhupura Fort for nine months. On the afternoon of May 15, 1848, she was taken away, to be imprisoned in Chunar Fort, near Benares (in current day Uttar Pradesh, India). She made a dramatic escape from there and fled to Nepal, where she remained until, years later, almost blind and dying, was finally allowed to visit her son, who was by then exiled in England.
The Sheikhupura Fort was thus witness to a number of crucial turning points during the half-century of the Sikh Raj.
The Empire had held played a crucial role as a bulwark against ongoing invasions through the subcontinent’s porous western borders. At its peak, it held sway from Tibet in the east to the Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north and to Sindh in the south. It also, while Ranjit Singh was alive, kept the British at bay, even though the rest of the subcontinent had collapsed under them like a row of dominoes.
After the annexation of Punjab, the Sheikhupura Fort was temporarily used as administrative headquarters of the Gujranwala district from 1849 to 1851. However, upon the transfer of the district headquarters to Gujranwala town, it was turned into a military outpost.
After a split of administration jurisdictions in 1918, a new district was created in Sheikhupura. The Fort then passed on to house the police headquarters of the newly created district.
After the partition of Punjab and India in 1947, it was briefly used by the immigrants from East Punjab (by then in the newly-created India) as shelter, and
later by encroachers, from whom it came into the possession of the Department of Archaeology of Pakistan in 1967.
Within the complex, no building from the Mughal period is left standing, except the main entrance façade. There are also some remains of sandstone columns depicting the history of the laying of the foundations of the Sheikhupura Fort.
Today, what we can see standing, although dilapidated, is a crumbling six-storey haveli, identical to the haveli of Naunihal Singh, which is situated inside Mori Gate in Lahore.
The most vibrant aspect of the beauty of the haveli in the Sheikhupura Fort is its frescoes.
Sadly, precious wooden doors, windows and parts of the roof have already been whisked away by raiders and the haveli has turned into a haunted house.
Inside the ruins and rooms occupied by bats, we can still find signs of the former lifestyle through colourful and thematic paintings and other art work in the Kangra style. Fresco art work in the haveli of Raj Kaur portrays almost all aspects of daily life – ranging from worship to romantic love to military life. Colors are still vivid, the art work is glittering, but the haveli is now, due to institutional neglect, close to the end of its physical life.
Despite its poor condition, no contractor or labourer agrees to work as it is believed the fort is haunted by ghosts of the queens which used to live there.
This fort is closed to the public due to its bad structural condition; it took me at least three years to take permission to visit this place.
(References:- K. Lal in his book Tarekh e Punjab & The crumbling glory of Sheikhupura Fort by Aown Ali)
In West Punjab (now in Pakistan), the town of Sheikhupura (about 35 km west of Lahore) is hailed a center of historically significant architecture.
The Hiran Minar (Minaret of the Antelope) and the Sheikhupura Fort make this stop a focal point of interest.
The town, now a district headquarters and one of the major industrial cities of Punjab, has grown from a village, originally called “Jahangirpura” when it was settled during the reign of the Mughal emperor, Jahangir, because of its proximity to Hiran Minar, a royal hunting resort.
The primary historical importance of the city relates to its Fort. It lays no claim to grandeur. Locally known as Qila Sheikhupura, it has gave its name to the town as well.
Construction of the fort began in the second year of Jahangir’s reign (1607). The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (autobiography of Jahangir) mentions that the emperor assigned the job of constructing a fort at that location to Sikandar Moeen during a hunting trip to Hiran Minar.
The two centuries that followed were mostly uneventful for the Fort. Neither a seat of government nor a target for invaders, it remained but a halt for imperial entourages heading on pleasure trips to Kashmir in the north, or towards Kabul in the west.
The Fort’s political importance did not emerge until the establishment of the Sikh Empire at the end of the 18th century.
A veteran historian and archeologist, Ihsan H. Nadiem, tells us that immediately before the consolidation of Punjab under the Sikhs, the Fort served as a convenient place for robbers looting the countryside.
The Durrani king, Shah Zaman, during his invasion of Lahore in 1797, briefly besieged the Fort, but only to purge it of the robbers. Soon after his departure, the Fort was once again occupied by the highwaymen.
Shortly thereafter, Lehna Singh Majithia (who also served as the Governor of Lahore. The son of General Lehna Singh, Sardar Dyal Singh, was perhaps the most significant Punjabi of the late 19th century in the British Punjab. He was the main force behind the founding of Punjab University), an ally of Ranjit Singh, invaded the fort and took occupation. After him, its ownership passed on to Bhai Singh, followed by Sahib Singh and Sahai Singh in 1808, at which point Ranjit Singh marched upon it and caused its surrender.
This whole story of Sheikhupura raid wrote by Hindu writer K. Lal in his book Tarekh e Punjab (Page 196-197) and it is as under:
“Mahraja Ranjeet was busy in handling state affairs, in the meantime a group of farmers belong to Sheikhpura came to his door, they wanted to seek help against brutal Sikh rulers Sardar Arbel Singh & Sardar Ameer Singh. These Sardars had occupied the Sheikhupura fort and land, there army looting common people up to that level that they were dying of hunger. That group of farmer said the people of Sheikhupura accepted the over lordship of the Maharaja and requested to take their territory under Mahraja rule and control to protect them from these two brutal Sardars.
Mahraja accepted the request and assigned his eldest son, the crown prince, Kharak Singh for Sheikhupura fort Campaign. He reached Sheikhupura; he has four thousand army troops and support of one Cannon artillery.
Sheikhupura fort was very well constructed with strong fortified walls, Mahraja himself selected best cannons from his cannon yard for this campaign and also assign one of his best army officer Sardar Hakma Singh for assisting Crown prince Kharak Singh in this campaign.
When this troop reached Sheikhupura, Crown Prince Kharak Singh called both the ruling Sardar’s to him, but instead of appearing in front of Prince they have further fortified the fort and get ready for war.
The Prince first sieges the fort and then orders Canon artillery to start fire on fort walls. The fort walls were strongly fortified and hold the Cannon artillery attack for days.
This result less campaign made Prince to think if he wanted to win this fight he has to reinforce his troops and artillery as well. For that purpose he wrote for help to his father Mahraja Ranjit Singh. When Maharaja saw this letter he got angry, he ordered to send biggest cannon of his artillery the Ahmad Shahi Gun. Which he forcefully took from Saheb Singh Guajarati)
(Ahmad Shahi Gun also known as zamzama gun…, The Zamzama Gun is a large bore cannon. It is also known as Kim’s Gun or Bhangianwali Taop. It was cast in 1757 in Lahore. At that time Lahore was a part of the Durrani Empire. The gun was used by Ahmed Shah in the battle of Panipat in 1761. In 1802, Ranjit Singh got hold of the gun and used it in the battles of Daska, Kasur, Sujanpur, Wazirabad and Multan. In the siege of Multan, the gun was badly damaged. It is currently on display in front of the Lahore Museum at The Mall Road, Lahore.)
The Maharaja also reached the Sheikhupura Fort with fresh troops and again the battle started.
After two days of fight, Maharaja ordered to place Ahmed Shah Gun in front of Main gate of Fort. It was tough task and took many lives of soldiers but at last it was placed there. Hundred rounds of guns were fired and main gate of fort completely destroyed. The Mahraja troops entered the fort and raise the winning flag on wall. Both Arbel & Ameer Singh were arrested.
Since the area of Sheikhupura won in name of Crown Prince Kharak Singh, the fort and “Jageer” of Sheikhupura bestowed to Prince by his father Mahraja Ranjeet Singh under the primacy of her mother Rani Datar Kaur (1801-1840), the mother of the crown prince, Kharak Singh. She was also known as Rani Raj Kaur or Mai Nakkain. She lived in the Fort till her death.”
She had a considerable role in the rehabilitation of this small, strategically unimportant and hitherto almost abandoned citadel. She built a wonderful haveli within it. The excellent frescoes in the distinctive Kangra style found in the parlour and in the two chambers on the first floor of this haveli, are attributed to Raj Kaur‘s excellent taste.
In mid-19th century, when the British invaded Punjab, they used the Fort to imprison the Sikh kingdom’s Regent, Rani Jind Kaur – “Jindaa(n)” - after taking her son, the child Emperor Duleep Singh, prisoner.
In a letter dated August 9, 1847 Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence, the British Resident in Punjab suggested to the Governor General that the Queen be banished from Punjab, to prevent the populace from rising under banner.
The 8-year old Emperor was removed from his palace in the Lahore Fort on August 19, 1847, and taken to the Shalimar Gardens, while his mother, the Queen, was confined to the distant Sheikhupura Fort.
Historian Himadri Banerjee describes how Jindaan was forcibly removed from Lahore between 8 and 9 pm under a heavy military escort. Accompanied by Sardar Arjan Singh Rangharnanglia and Gurmukh Singh Lamma, she was lodged in Sheikhupura Fort in the early hours of Friday, August 20, 1847, under the charge of Sardar Boor Singh.
Soon after her arrival at Sheikhupura, she wrote the following letter to the Resident at Lahore, protesting the ruthless separation from her young eight-year old.
With the Grace of the Great Guru
From Bibi Sahib to Lawrence Sahib,
We have arrived safely at Sheikhupura, You should send our luggage with care, As I was sitting in the Samman (Burj - Palace in Lahore Fort), in the same way I am in Sheikhupura. Both the places are same to me; you have been very cruel to me. You have snatched my son from me … In the name of the God you worship and in the name of the king whose salt you eat, restore my son to me. I cannot bear the pain of this separation … I shall reside in Sheikhupura. I shall not go to Lahore. Send my son to me. I will come to you at Lahore only during the days when you hold darbar. On that day I will send him. A great deal (of injustice) has been done to me. A great deal (of injustice) has been done to my son also. You have accepted what other people have said. Put an end to it now. Too much has been done.
The Queen resided in the Sheikhupura Fort for nine months. On the afternoon of May 15, 1848, she was taken away, to be imprisoned in Chunar Fort, near Benares (in current day Uttar Pradesh, India). She made a dramatic escape from there and fled to Nepal, where she remained until, years later, almost blind and dying, was finally allowed to visit her son, who was by then exiled in England.
The Sheikhupura Fort was thus witness to a number of crucial turning points during the half-century of the Sikh Raj.
The Empire had held played a crucial role as a bulwark against ongoing invasions through the subcontinent’s porous western borders. At its peak, it held sway from Tibet in the east to the Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north and to Sindh in the south. It also, while Ranjit Singh was alive, kept the British at bay, even though the rest of the subcontinent had collapsed under them like a row of dominoes.
After the annexation of Punjab, the Sheikhupura Fort was temporarily used as administrative headquarters of the Gujranwala district from 1849 to 1851. However, upon the transfer of the district headquarters to Gujranwala town, it was turned into a military outpost.
After a split of administration jurisdictions in 1918, a new district was created in Sheikhupura. The Fort then passed on to house the police headquarters of the newly created district.
After the partition of Punjab and India in 1947, it was briefly used by the immigrants from East Punjab (by then in the newly-created India) as shelter, and
later by encroachers, from whom it came into the possession of the Department of Archaeology of Pakistan in 1967.
Within the complex, no building from the Mughal period is left standing, except the main entrance façade. There are also some remains of sandstone columns depicting the history of the laying of the foundations of the Sheikhupura Fort.
Today, what we can see standing, although dilapidated, is a crumbling six-storey haveli, identical to the haveli of Naunihal Singh, which is situated inside Mori Gate in Lahore.
The most vibrant aspect of the beauty of the haveli in the Sheikhupura Fort is its frescoes.
Sadly, precious wooden doors, windows and parts of the roof have already been whisked away by raiders and the haveli has turned into a haunted house.
Inside the ruins and rooms occupied by bats, we can still find signs of the former lifestyle through colourful and thematic paintings and other art work in the Kangra style. Fresco art work in the haveli of Raj Kaur portrays almost all aspects of daily life – ranging from worship to romantic love to military life. Colors are still vivid, the art work is glittering, but the haveli is now, due to institutional neglect, close to the end of its physical life.
Despite its poor condition, no contractor or labourer agrees to work as it is believed the fort is haunted by ghosts of the queens which used to live there.
This fort is closed to the public due to its bad structural condition; it took me at least three years to take permission to visit this place.
(References:- K. Lal in his book Tarekh e Punjab & The crumbling glory of Sheikhupura Fort by Aown Ali)
In West Punjab (now in Pakistan), the town of Sheikhupura (about 35 km west of Lahore) is hailed a center of historically significant architecture.
The Hiran Minar (Minaret of the Antelope) and the Sheikhupura Fort make this stop a focal point of interest.
The town, now a district headquarters and one of the major industrial cities of Punjab, has grown from a village, originally called “Jahangirpura” when it was settled during the reign of the Mughal emperor, Jahangir, because of its proximity to Hiran Minar, a royal hunting resort.
The primary historical importance of the city relates to its Fort. It lays no claim to grandeur. Locally known as Qila Sheikhupura, it has gave its name to the town as well.
Construction of the fort began in the second year of Jahangir’s reign (1607). The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (autobiography of Jahangir) mentions that the emperor assigned the job of constructing a fort at that location to Sikandar Moeen during a hunting trip to Hiran Minar.
The two centuries that followed were mostly uneventful for the Fort. Neither a seat of government nor a target for invaders, it remained but a halt for imperial entourages heading on pleasure trips to Kashmir in the north, or towards Kabul in the west.
The Fort’s political importance did not emerge until the establishment of the Sikh Empire at the end of the 18th century.
A veteran historian and archeologist, Ihsan H. Nadiem, tells us that immediately before the consolidation of Punjab under the Sikhs, the Fort served as a convenient place for robbers looting the countryside.
The Durrani king, Shah Zaman, during his invasion of Lahore in 1797, briefly besieged the Fort, but only to purge it of the robbers. Soon after his departure, the Fort was once again occupied by the highwaymen.
Shortly thereafter, Lehna Singh Majithia (who also served as the Governor of Lahore. The son of General Lehna Singh, Sardar Dyal Singh, was perhaps the most significant Punjabi of the late 19th century in the British Punjab. He was the main force behind the founding of Punjab University), an ally of Ranjit Singh, invaded the fort and took occupation. After him, its ownership passed on to Bhai Singh, followed by Sahib Singh and Sahai Singh in 1808, at which point Ranjit Singh marched upon it and caused its surrender.
This whole story of Sheikhupura raid wrote by Hindu writer K. Lal in his book Tarekh e Punjab (Page 196-197) and it is as under:
“Mahraja Ranjeet was busy in handling state affairs, in the meantime a group of farmers belong to Sheikhpura came to his door, they wanted to seek help against brutal Sikh rulers Sardar Arbel Singh & Sardar Ameer Singh. These Sardars had occupied the Sheikhupura fort and land, there army looting common people up to that level that they were dying of hunger. That group of farmer said the people of Sheikhupura accepted the over lordship of the Maharaja and requested to take their territory under Mahraja rule and control to protect them from these two brutal Sardars.
Mahraja accepted the request and assigned his eldest son, the crown prince, Kharak Singh for Sheikhupura fort Campaign. He reached Sheikhupura; he has four thousand army troops and support of one Cannon artillery.
Sheikhupura fort was very well constructed with strong fortified walls, Mahraja himself selected best cannons from his cannon yard for this campaign and also assign one of his best army officer Sardar Hakma Singh for assisting Crown prince Kharak Singh in this campaign.
When this troop reached Sheikhupura, Crown Prince Kharak Singh called both the ruling Sardar’s to him, but instead of appearing in front of Prince they have further fortified the fort and get ready for war.
The Prince first sieges the fort and then orders Canon artillery to start fire on fort walls. The fort walls were strongly fortified and hold the Cannon artillery attack for days.
This result less campaign made Prince to think if he wanted to win this fight he has to reinforce his troops and artillery as well. For that purpose he wrote for help to his father Mahraja Ranjit Singh. When Maharaja saw this letter he got angry, he ordered to send biggest cannon of his artillery the Ahmad Shahi Gun. Which he forcefully took from Saheb Singh Guajarati)
(Ahmad Shahi Gun also known as zamzama gun…, The Zamzama Gun is a large bore cannon. It is also known as Kim’s Gun or Bhangianwali Taop. It was cast in 1757 in Lahore. At that time Lahore was a part of the Durrani Empire. The gun was used by Ahmed Shah in the battle of Panipat in 1761. In 1802, Ranjit Singh got hold of the gun and used it in the battles of Daska, Kasur, Sujanpur, Wazirabad and Multan. In the siege of Multan, the gun was badly damaged. It is currently on display in front of the Lahore Museum at The Mall Road, Lahore.)
The Maharaja also reached the Sheikhupura Fort with fresh troops and again the battle started.
After two days of fight, Maharaja ordered to place Ahmed Shah Gun in front of Main gate of Fort. It was tough task and took many lives of soldiers but at last it was placed there. Hundred rounds of guns were fired and main gate of fort completely destroyed. The Mahraja troops entered the fort and raise the winning flag on wall. Both Arbel & Ameer Singh were arrested.
Since the area of Sheikhupura won in name of Crown Prince Kharak Singh, the fort and “Jageer” of Sheikhupura bestowed to Prince by his father Mahraja Ranjeet Singh under the primacy of her mother Rani Datar Kaur (1801-1840), the mother of the crown prince, Kharak Singh. She was also known as Rani Raj Kaur or Mai Nakkain. She lived in the Fort till her death.”
She had a considerable role in the rehabilitation of this small, strategically unimportant and hitherto almost abandoned citadel. She built a wonderful haveli within it. The excellent frescoes in the distinctive Kangra style found in the parlour and in the two chambers on the first floor of this haveli, are attributed to Raj Kaur‘s excellent taste.
In mid-19th century, when the British invaded Punjab, they used the Fort to imprison the Sikh kingdom’s Regent, Rani Jind Kaur – “Jindaa(n)” - after taking her son, the child Emperor Duleep Singh, prisoner.
In a letter dated August 9, 1847 Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence, the British Resident in Punjab suggested to the Governor General that the Queen be banished from Punjab, to prevent the populace from rising under banner.
The 8-year old Emperor was removed from his palace in the Lahore Fort on August 19, 1847, and taken to the Shalimar Gardens, while his mother, the Queen, was confined to the distant Sheikhupura Fort.
Historian Himadri Banerjee describes how Jindaan was forcibly removed from Lahore between 8 and 9 pm under a heavy military escort. Accompanied by Sardar Arjan Singh Rangharnanglia and Gurmukh Singh Lamma, she was lodged in Sheikhupura Fort in the early hours of Friday, August 20, 1847, under the charge of Sardar Boor Singh.
Soon after her arrival at Sheikhupura, she wrote the following letter to the Resident at Lahore, protesting the ruthless separation from her young eight-year old.
With the Grace of the Great Guru
From Bibi Sahib to Lawrence Sahib,
We have arrived safely at Sheikhupura, You should send our luggage with care, As I was sitting in the Samman (Burj - Palace in Lahore Fort), in the same way I am in Sheikhupura. Both the places are same to me; you have been very cruel to me. You have snatched my son from me … In the name of the God you worship and in the name of the king whose salt you eat, restore my son to me. I cannot bear the pain of this separation … I shall reside in Sheikhupura. I shall not go to Lahore. Send my son to me. I will come to you at Lahore only during the days when you hold darbar. On that day I will send him. A great deal (of injustice) has been done to me. A great deal (of injustice) has been done to my son also. You have accepted what other people have said. Put an end to it now. Too much has been done.
The Queen resided in the Sheikhupura Fort for nine months. On the afternoon of May 15, 1848, she was taken away, to be imprisoned in Chunar Fort, near Benares (in current day Uttar Pradesh, India). She made a dramatic escape from there and fled to Nepal, where she remained until, years later, almost blind and dying, was finally allowed to visit her son, who was by then exiled in England.
The Sheikhupura Fort was thus witness to a number of crucial turning points during the half-century of the Sikh Raj.
The Empire had held played a crucial role as a bulwark against ongoing invasions through the subcontinent’s porous western borders. At its peak, it held sway from Tibet in the east to the Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north and to Sindh in the south. It also, while Ranjit Singh was alive, kept the British at bay, even though the rest of the subcontinent had collapsed under them like a row of dominoes.
After the annexation of Punjab, the Sheikhupura Fort was temporarily used as administrative headquarters of the Gujranwala district from 1849 to 1851. However, upon the transfer of the district headquarters to Gujranwala town, it was turned into a military outpost.
After a split of administration jurisdictions in 1918, a new district was created in Sheikhupura. The Fort then passed on to house the police headquarters of the newly created district.
After the partition of Punjab and India in 1947, it was briefly used by the immigrants from East Punjab (by then in the newly-created India) as shelter, and
later by encroachers, from whom it came into the possession of the Department of Archaeology of Pakistan in 1967.
Within the complex, no building from the Mughal period is left standing, except the main entrance façade. There are also some remains of sandstone columns depicting the history of the laying of the foundations of the Sheikhupura Fort.
Today, what we can see standing, although dilapidated, is a crumbling six-storey haveli, identical to the haveli of Naunihal Singh, which is situated inside Mori Gate in Lahore.
The most vibrant aspect of the beauty of the haveli in the Sheikhupura Fort is its frescoes.
Sadly, precious wooden doors, windows and parts of the roof have already been whisked away by raiders and the haveli has turned into a haunted house.
Inside the ruins and rooms occupied by bats, we can still find signs of the former lifestyle through colourful and thematic paintings and other art work in the Kangra style. Fresco art work in the haveli of Raj Kaur portrays almost all aspects of daily life – ranging from worship to romantic love to military life. Colors are still vivid, the art work is glittering, but the haveli is now, due to institutional neglect, close to the end of its physical life.
Despite its poor condition, no contractor or labourer agrees to work as it is believed the fort is haunted by ghosts of the queens which used to live there.
This fort is closed to the public due to its bad structural condition; it took me at least three years to take permission to visit this place.
Gurdwara Thakkarke Village (Gujranwala)
The unknown glory of old Punjab.
View Gujranwala Light Rail in a larger map
Time and Tide waits for none. How great Kingdoms of the past that rules the land for generations vanish forever.
Mahan Singh son of Charhat Singh of the Sukkarchakkia misl, was young in years when his father died. During his minority, his mother, Mai Desan, carried on the administration, with the help of her brothers. As soon as he came of age, Mahan Singh embarked upon a career of conquest. He took the fort of Rohtas back from Nur ud-Din Bamezai. Aided by Jai Singh Kanhaiya, he advanced upon Rasulnagar. The powerful Chattha chief, Pir Muhammad, offered him stiff resistance, but was at last overcome. The town was occupied and renamed Ramnagar.
As Mahan Singh returned from his victorious campaign, he received the news of a son having been born to him on 13 November 1780. He named his son Ranjit Singh, Victor in War, and celebrated the event with great rejoicing. Continuing his campaign of conquest, Mahan Singh took Pindi Bhattian, Sahival,'Isa Khel and Jhang. He then seized Kotli Loharan, in the neighbourhood of Sialkot. In 1782, he, like his father, got involved in the affairs of Jammu. Taking advantage of the internecine feud between the Jammu brothers, he plundered the town, collecting a huge booty, which he refused to share with his partners, the Kanhaiyas. Mahan Singh won over Jassa Singh Ramgarhia to his side, and both of them challenged the Kanhaiyas near Batala. In the battle that followed, Jai Singh's only son, Gurbakhsh Singh, was killed, and the Kanhaiyas suffered a defeat. Later, Sada Kaur, widow of Gurbakhsh Singh, betrothed her daughter, Mahitab Kaur, to Mahan Singh's only son, Ranjit Singh.
Mahan Singh's next target was the Bhangi misl. He picked a quarrel with his brother-in-law, Sahib Singh Bhangi, after the death of his father, Gujjar Singh Bhangi. Sahib Singh shut himself up in the fort of Sodhra, which was invested by the Sukkarchakkia chief. During the protracted siege, Mahan Singh fell seriously ill with dysentery, and was forced to retire. He died in April 1790.
Baradari in Sheranwala Bagh, Gujranwala was built in 1788 on orders of Sardar Mahan Singh. Sheranwala Bagh destroyed by rioters in 1992 in the wake of the demolition of Babri Masjid in India. It is later restored by respective departments.
When I visited the site, I found an old man sleeping in middle of that Bardari. This scene was simple but made me lost for a while to think, how time clock turn around. From beginning of establishment of great Sikh Empire in Punjab and vanishing everything in two centuries….
The martyr sacrifices themselves entirely in vain. Or rather not in vain; for they make the selfish more selfish, the lazy more lazy, the narrow narrower.
Florence Nightingale
Wars and deaths abound the globe today, .... killing to get peace? .......are Florence Nightingale's words proving to be true,...again?
Nishan-i-Manzil is a monument dedicated to the Martyrs, located in Gujranwala Cantt, Pakistan
Acharya Vijayanand Suri (1837–1896), also known as Atmaramji of Gujranwala, was the first Swetambar Murtipujaka Jain monk in modern times to receive the title of Acharya.Born and raised in Punjab, he was initiated as Sthanakvasi monk who later joined Murtipujaka tradition. He travelled extensively in Gujarat, Rajputana and Punjab; and organised and reformed Jain community, ascetic orders and literature. He wrote several books in Hindi and was invited to the first World Parliament of Religions in 1893 which was attended by Virchand Gandhi later.
He was born on 6 April 1837 CE (Chaitra Shukla 1 Vikram Samvat 1893) in Lehara, Punjab to Ganeshchandra and Rupdevi. He was born in a Brahmakshatriya Hindu family.His father was an army official of Ranjit Singh. His father died in his early childhood and he was raised by his mother. He was given to Sheth Jodhmal of Jira, Punjab for education in VS 1903. He studied Hindi and arithmetic. He came into contact with Sthanakvasi monks during his school life. A couple of influential Sthanakavasi monks initiated him in 1853 (VS 1910) at the age of sixteen and was given the name of Atmaram.
Ascetic career
Memorial shrine in Gujranwala, now used as police station of Sabzi Mandi area. From Chicago Prashnottar, 1918
Atmaram began the study of Jain scriptures along with his fellow ascetics. He was later joined by a Yati of Tapa Gaccha lineage. After several years of study, he was convinced that the Sthanakavasi position of opposition of Idol-worshiping contradicted the scriptures.Later in 1876 (VS 1943), he was initiated again as a Murtipujaka monk in Ahmedabad by Muni Buddhivijay, also known as Buterayji of Tapa Gaccha who himself was Sthanakvasi monk before. He was given a new name, Anandvijay.
In 1886, he was conferred the title of Acharya by the congregation of Palitana during his Chaturmas (four months stay during rainy season) there. This was a notable event because since four centuries, there wasn't an ascetic who was conferred with the title of Acharya. He was the first Acharya of contemporary Jain history as till then only Yatis were conferred with the title. As a result of reforms advocated by him, the influence of yatis declined, although the yatis still survive in some locations.
He travelled extensively in Gujarat and Punjab. He convinced to open Jain Bhandaras (libraries) with Jain literature kept closed for people since years and had texts copied and examined by scholars. He brought these literature to light and instilled sense of identity among Jains. In 1893, he was invited to participate in the first ever World Parliament of Religions at Chicago and since Jain monks do not travel overseas he sent Virchand Gandhi to United States to participate in the World Parliament of Religions. He won silver medal in 1893 at Chicago and was covered by many USA periodicals.Based on questions that he had received from the organizers of the Parliament, he wrote a book for the occasion entitled The Chicago-Prashnottar or Questions and Answers on Jainism for the Parliament of Religions Held at Chicago USA in 1893. He was instrumental in reviving the tradition of fully initiated monks (Samvegi sadhu). He also convinced many Sthankvasis in the Punjab to join the Murtipujaka tradition. About 15000 people converted to Jainism due to his efforts. He also encouraged the construction and renovation of Jain temples. He had helped orientalist Rudolf Hoernlé in his studies on Jainism.
He died in Gujranwala (now in Pakistan) on 20 May 1896 (Jayeshtha Shukla 13 VS 1953). A memorial shrine dedicated to him was built there,which is now used as a police station of Sabzi Mandi area. His footprints along with the chhatri (cenotaph) over them, are moved to Lahore Fort Museum
One of the three most revered Sikh temples in Pakistan. I was not aklowed inside so had to snap the shot from the gates.
(Explored)
The unknown glory of old Punjab.
The monument of Maha Singh or Mahan Singh, near Sheranwala Garden, Gujranwala.
Maha Singh ਮਹਾਂ ਸਿੰਘ or Mahan Singh(1756–1790) Upon the death of his father, Charat Singh, he succeeded to the leadership of the Sukerchakia Misl. His son Ranjit Singh succeeded him and established the Sikh Empire.
An Addition to my Adventures... as soon as i get a chance, i'm gonna make a trip to mountains on this nice piece. The best thing i like about this bike is that, it has Shimano Gears, the best ones :P i've always been a fan of Shimano. plus, it has disc brakes, dual suspension, alloy rims. so i LOVE it :P
I have taken off it's Carrier, so don't think it can't make a mountain trip, it can be fixed back anytime :-)
“I’ve noticed that poor/economically challenged people have relatively bigger hearts. Two men sharing a plate of ‘daal’ while sitting on the floor will offer you their share of food, but the rich will only offer you their leftovers, once they’re done with their food.
Its not about whether you share your food or not. It’s about how you treat others.
I stop by this poor neighbourhood every day while selling Chinese electronics. The streets are embroiled in congested and narrow …lanes, but the hearts are open and giving.
The people may not be able to afford what I sell, but they feed me food. Even without asking, I am given a glass of water, as I walk by.
‘Why do you think so?’
Maybe because these people like me fight for their daily wages, and realise the ordeal I go through everyday just to feed myself and my family”
Shot near Gujranwala, Pakistan…
Tech Specs:
NIKON D810 + Sigma 85.0 mm f/1.4
Shutter Speed: 1/500 s – Aperture f/1.4 – ISO/Film 64
Kot Abdullah is a small village located some 42 kms on Narowal Murideke road. A 5 km village road in North West direction connects Kot Abdullah to village Kotli Maqbara. Further half kilometer northeast of Kotli Maqbra, a magnificent Octagonal Mughal edifice raised from ground having four minarets on each side. This edifice is Mausoleum of “Abdul Nabi”. Like all other historical buildings in country same vandalism found here. The story of ignorance and negligence towards historical heritage. A marvelous Architecture but it is almost collapsing right now.
Aown Ali is a key member of Oriental architecture for Pakistan, Aown in his article, Who lies Beneath Kotli maqbr? That is written:
“This beautiful Mughal monument has not received any attention from British historians and archaeologists and this disinterest continued in the post partition era, eventually leading to its dilapidation.
The minarets are quite similar to the early 17th century buildings like Jahangir Tomb, Dai Anga Mosque and the Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore. The arched entrance to the underground grave chamber is on the southern side, with three graves wrapped in green silk sheets that bear Islamic inscriptions on them.”
Also great historian Sir Salman Rashid in his blog, How a Saint is Born, Published in The Express Tribune, August 11th, 2012 that is written:
“….Wahndo in Gujranwala district is famous only for lawlessness. But there is, near this town, the small village of Kotli Maqbara with an imposing domed Mughal structure in the fields outside the habitation. The ground floor is plain while the basement has three graves. Its minarets recall those of Chauburji in Lahore and, therefore, give us a date of construction.
In November 1991, when I was working on my book on Gujranwala, I thought I had discovered a monument that had escaped the official eye. But my mentor Dr Saifur Rahman Dar told me that this building was mid-17th century and housed the mortal remains of Divan Abdul Nabi Khan, the governor of Wazirabad, successively under Shah Jehan andAurangzeb.
On my first visit, I was told that the building was raised by jinns and was locally known as Deo Minara — Minaret of the Jinn. No one knew who was interred within and the usual refrain was, ‘It’s been there since the time of our grandfathers and nobody knows anything about it.’ In Punjabi plain-speak, this means it could either be millions of years old or one hundred.
There was one interesting story in November 1991: a woman had, of late, started to visit the mausoleum. She dismounted from her escort’s motorcycle some ways away and came dancing to the tomb where she did all sorts of genuflexions at the subterranean graves. She told the people that a vision in her dream had informed her that these three were great heroes of Islam, who had come from Arabia and whose exertions had done much for religion in the heathen land of India. My investigations revealed that this seer of visions was a superannuated dancing woman and prostitute from Chhicherwali, a village outside Gujranwala.
Exactly a year later, November 1992, I took a bunch of college students from Lahore to Kotli Maqbara. Some local hangers-on warned me this being the hallowed burial of a great man of God, we could not go in with our shoes on. We went in nevertheless.
Done with our excursion, our bunch was at the nearby hand pump where we were joined by a group of young men from the village. I was telling the kids about Abdul Nabi Khan when one of the locals interrupted me. What on earth was I babbling on about, he demanded to know. Everyone knew that the tomb housed three saints. The man also said I could believe what I wanted, but everyone knew how supplication at the tomb was answered quickly.
Since when, I asked. And the answer: “This has always happened since the time of our grandfathers. Everyone knows of it.” However, none of the locals could give us the saints’ names.
Nine years later, in early 2001, I returned to Kotli Maqbara. The entrance to the underground burial chamber was now draped with the signature green satin of holy Islamic burials. The new steel signboard had names: Hazrat Pir Makki Shah and Hazrat Pir Atray Shah. The first one was understandable: you want to create a saint, just name him Makki Shah — from Mecca — and you get a ready-made saint. The second name was inexplicable and the third was evidently under consideration.
I went into the village and asked around. Of course, the names had been known since the time of the grandfathers. If no one remembered what the past was like only a year after it had been reinvented, it was foolish to imagine they would now want to recall the time before 1991, 10 years later.
There were stories about how supplicants’ wishes simply came true as soon as they put their foreheads to the ground in front of the graves. Now people took off their shoes about a hundred metres from the plinth of the building. There was a weekly Thursday festival and an annual ursto celebrate the death of Makki Shah. No prizes for guessing who took the pickings from the business: none but the woman from Chhicherwali, who had retired from selling her virtue — though, if she had any is questionable.
Strange place, Pakistan. Tell the truth and watch it rejected; whisper some inane notion to the winds and it becomes gospel.”
Maharaja Ranjeet Singh,s Rest House in Gujranwala.
Ranjit Singh was crowned on 12 April 1801. Sahib Singh Bedi, a descendant of Guru Nanak Dev, conducted the coronation.Gujranwala served as his capital from 1799. In 1802 he shifted his capital to Lahore. Ranjit Singh rose to power in a very short period, from a leader of a single Sikh misl to finally becoming the Maharaja (Emperor) of Punjab.
Copyright © 2013 Tahir Iqbal, all rights reserved.
This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.
The Zamzama Gun also known as Kim’s Gun or Bhangianwala Toap is a large bore cannon. It was cast in 1762 in Lahore, now in Pakistan but at the time part of the Durrani Empire. It is currently on display in front of the Lahore Museum in Lahore, Punjab.
The gun is 14 feet 4 1⁄2 inches (4.382 metres) in length, with a bore at its aperture of 9 1⁄2 inches (24 centimetres). This gun, one of the largest ever made in the sub-continent, was cast at Lahore along with another gun of the same size in 1757 by Shah Nazir (a metalsmith of the former Mughal viceroy Muin-ul-Mulk), under the directions of Shah Wali Khan, who was prime minister in the reign of the Afghan King Ahmed Shah Durrani.
The Zamzama was said to have been 'made of copper and brass'. Its construction was funded by the people of Lahore who were asked to give their kitchen utensils for the gun.
The gun was used by Ahmed Shah in the battle of Panipat, in 1761. After the battle, on his way back to Kabul, he left it at Lahore with his governor, Khawaja Ubed, as the carriage that was supposed to take the gun to Kabul was not ready. The other gun he took with him but that one was lost in passage through the Chenab.
In 1762, Hari Singh Bhangi went into battle with Khawaja Ubed. Bhangi attacked the then-village of Khawaja Said two miles from Lahore (now part of the city of Lahore), where the Mughal governor Khawaja Ubed had his arsenal, and seized his artillery, arms and ammunition. Amongst the guns captured was the Zamzama Gun itself. It was renamed by its Sikh captors Bhangi Toap. For the next two years, it lay in the Shah Burj of the Lahore Fort. Thereafter, Lehna Singh and Gujjar Singh Bhangi got hold of it and they gave it to Charat Singh Shukerchakia as his share in the spoils. The Bhangi Sardars thought that Charat Singh would not be able to carry this gun with him and it would remain with them. But contrary to their expectations, Charat Singh successfully carried this gun to his fort at Gujranwala.
From Charat Singh, Zamzama was snatched by the Pashtuns of Chatha who took it to Ahmadnagar where it became a bone of contention between the Pathan brothers Ahmad Khan and Pir Muhammad. In the fight that ensued, two sons of Ahmad Khan and one of Pir Muhammad were killed. In this fight, Gujjar Singh Bhangi sided with Pir Muhammad. After the victory, the gun was restored to Gujjar Singh. After two years, the gun was wrested by Charat Singh Shukerchakia from whom it was once again snatched by the Pashtuns.
Next year, Sardar Jhanda Singh Bhangi defeated the Pashtuns of Chatha and brought the gun to Amritsar. In 1802, Ranjit Singh, after defeating the Bhangis, got hold of the gun. He used it in the battles of Daska, Kasur, Sujanpur, Wazirabad and Multan. In the siege of Multan, the gun was badly damaged.
Kali Suba in Gujranwala district , near this town, the small village of Kotli Maqbara with an imposing domed Mughal structure in the fields outside the habitation. The ground floor is plain while the basement has three graves. Its minarets recall those of Chauburji in Lahore and, therefore, give us a date of construction.
("This building was mid-17th century and housed the mortal remains of Divan Abdul Nabi Khan, the Qazi Ul Qazza of Wazirabad, successively under Shah Jehan and Aurangzeb".).
It is a mervellous piece of archetecture but it's almost collapsing right now.
Wall-chalking done by members of Mehdi Foundation Pakistan. The writing reading '15th Ramadan: the Day of Mehdi. Imam Mehdi is Syedna Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi. - Mehdi Foundation International'.
Kali Suba in Gujranwala district , near this town, the small village of Kotli Maqbara with an imposing domed Mughal structure in the fields outside the habitation. The ground floor is plain while the basement has three graves. Its minarets recall those of Chauburji in Lahore and, therefore, give us a date of construction.
("This building was mid-17th century and housed the mortal remains of Divan Abdul Nabi Khan, the Qazi Ul Qazza of Wazirabad, successively under Shah Jehan and Aurangzeb".).
It is a mervellous piece of archetecture but it's almost collapsing right now.
Shiva Temple, Eminabad
Eminabad, a small town in central Punjab near Gujranwala, has some wonderful Muslim, Hindu and Sikh architecture of historic significance.There are at least three such main temples.
Wall-chalking done by members of Mehdi Foundation Pakistan. The writing reads '15th Ramadan: the Day of Mehdi. Imam Mehdi is Syedna Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi. - Mehdi Foundation International'.