The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, October 5, 2002, Chandigarh, India

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Sri Hargobindpur goes to seed
Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

Hargobindpur, October 4
One of the ancient towns of the state, founded by the sixth Sikh Guru himself is fast turning into ruins — thanks to the callous attitude of the successive state governments, the Department of Archives. The Archaeological Survey of India and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee which claim to be working toward the preservation of Sikh heritage.

The ruins of majestic historical buildings and the material used to build this ‘first capital of the Sikhs are fine specimen of craftsmanship, most of these date to the time of Emperor Shah Jehan — a contemporary of Guru Hargobind — the sixth Guru master after the sixth Guru, Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, too, used the town as the “Capital of Sikhs”.

Though the gazetteer of Gurdaspur says that the town was founded by Guru Hargobind as it named after him, the “Sikh Reference Book” claims that it was the fifth Sikh Guru — Guru Arjun Dev — who had the town built. The book reads: The town was founded on the ruins of Rohila village by Guru Arjun Singh in 1587 AD. Here Guru Hargobind Singh had to fight two battles against the joint forces of Mughals, Bhagwan Dass Gherarh and Karma. Earlier the name of the town was Gobindpur”.

As many as 40 wells were got sunk by Guru Hargobind in a planned manner but owing to the indifferent attitude of all concerned most of these are now filled with earth. Shockingly, the SGPC seems to be unaware of the historical importance of the wells.

The border district of Gurdaspur (Hargobindpur is part of it) was part of the vast area covered under the Indus Valley civilisation. This civilisation developed prior to the Aryan Civilisation in the region.

Sri Hargobindpur is one of the most planned towns of the intersect country. Broad streets from south to north are made to intersect at right angles and blocks thus formed are subdivided by lanes paralled or at right angles to the arterial streets.

Apart from Guru Ki maseet (a mosque) which was gifted by the Guru to the Muslims, 18 temples and many Sikh shrines built from time to time add to the historical importance of the town. With the passage of time many historical buildings have either been lost or are in a pitiable condition.

While the SGPC has failed miserably to deliver the goods, the Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia federation took upon itself the responsibility to identifying the historical buildings. A team led by Mr Onkar Singh Sandhu, with Mr Joginder Singh Kalsi, Mr Anup Singh Virdi, Mr H.S. Jabbal, Mr Bhagwant Singh Sandhu and Mr Hardev Singh Bhaghanwala, as members paid several visits here with a view to preserving the rich Sikh, Hindu and Muslim heritage. The team members were distressed to see the pitiable condition of the buildings. While Sikh history has references to the existence of such buildings, most of these have ceased to exist. The fort, believed to be built by Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, Zenankhana (residence for women), historical gates are in a dilapidated condition.

Mr Onkar Singh Sandhu, patron of the Ramgarhia Federation, alleged that a fort built by Sardar Jassa Singh first was converted into a hospital and demolished later.

Earlier Sri Hargobindpur used to bustle with activity on account of trade. However, after Partition, a majority of the Muslim population migrated to Pakistan. Even much before Partition, an earthquake in the Kangra valley and an epidemic of plague had claimed numerous lives in the town in 1914. After flash floods in 1955 the town faced the onslaught of termite leading to migration en masse.

To be concluded