Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, one of the greatest Sikh generals, has not been given his due place in the Sikh history. Even the historic fort constructed by this great warrior has lost its very existence, reports Varinder Walia

Historians, the SGPC and Sikh institutions have not done full justice to Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, one of the greatest Sikh generals.

The two-and-a-half century old historic Qila Ram Rauni (Ramgarh), built by Sardar Ramgarhia, has already lost its very existence. This was the fort from which the Ramgarhia Misl got its name. The adjective “Ramgarhia” means “Custodians of the Castle of God”. The chain of forts, including Ram Rauni Fort, Ahluwalia Fort and Gobindgarh Fort, were constructed to protect Harmandar Sahib from any foreign invasion.

Dr Ganda Singh in his book, “Sikh History” and another historian, A.C Arora in “Punjab Da Itihas”, claim that Ramgarh Qila came into being in 1748 AD.

The SGPC, which considers itself as the custodian of the Sikh edifices, has put a big ‘misleading’ board, mentioning the ‘samadh’ (tomb) of Sardar in the Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh complex (Amritsar).

Contesting the claims (of the SGPC), a renowned Sikh historian, Bakshish Singh Adal, in his well-acclaimed monograph, “Maharaja Jassa Singh”, claims that he (Sardar Ramgarhia) breathed his last at historic town Sirihargobindpur (Gurdaspur), and not in Amritsar, as mentioned by the Shiromani Committee on its board.

The tomb of Sardar Ramgarhia on the bank of the Beas was destroyed with heavy currents of the mighty river. No Sikh organisation made any effort to locate the exact place of his death so that appropriate monument could be constructed.

Sardar Ramgarhia was born in 1723 at Ichogil village, near Lahore. His grandfather took Amrit during the lifetime of Guru Gobind Singh, and joined him in many battles.  Later, he joined the forces of Banda Singh.

One gets perplexed to see a white memorial belonging to Sardar Jodh Singh Ramgarhia, son of Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, in Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh complex, where the SGPC through different signboards has described it (the memorial) as tomb and birthplace as well.

The All India Ramgarhia Federation, headed by Mr Onkar Singh Sandhu, took up the case with the SGPC many times for carrying out the correction, but to no avail. Out of the 12 “samadhs” of the “Ramgarhia Sardars’”, only this (Sardar Jodh Singh’s) tomb has been protected.

Jassa Singh Ramgarhia had two sons, Jodh Singh and Bir Singh. Sardar Jodh Singh succeeded his father after his death. He participated in the Battle of Kasur (siding with Ranjit Singh). After the occupation of Kasur, the Maharaja wooed him by gifting him an elephant. Maharaja Ranjit Singh felt that unless Ramgarhia was befriended, he could not occupy the whole of Punjab. So, he wrote a letter to Jodh Singh, soliciting his friendship and cooperation. Historians say that with the goodwill gesture he always sided with Maharaja in the latter’s expeditions against his adversaries.

Another edifice of Sardar Ramgarhia, which is losing its sheen, is twin minarets in Ramgarhia Bunga in the Harmandar Sahib complex. The rest of the 83 “bungas” were dismantled to widen the “parikarma” in the past. This three-storey building, a marvel of the Sikh school of architecture and built by Sikh warriors in 1794, faces threat to its very existence. Considerable damage has been done to this unique building by managers of kar seva.

The Babas of Kar Sevawale, who are using the “bungas” as their abode these days, have allegedly damaged certain portions of the building within the precincts of Darbar Sahib itself. They have built walls under the arches on the ground floor, and fixed doors to convert verandahs into rooms. The brickwork (the Nanakshahi bricks) has been plastered and painted at many places. Due to hindered ventilation, there is seepage in the basement of the “bunga”, which could render irreparable damage to the building.

The Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia Federation has criticised the SGPC for its attitude towards this monument. It has claimed that the former SGPC secretary, Dr Gurbachan Singh Bachan, had initiated a move to convert the basement of the “bunga” into a war museum. However, some persons having vested interests scuttled the move.

The federation had requisitioned the services of Sikh architects, and with reference to old pictures, the minarets in the “bungas” were got repaired. The federation got the bricks chiselled, carried out restoration work on the north-western wall of the “bunga” facing Darbar Sahib, but abruptly and without any notice by the authorities in the SGPC, withdrew the seva from the federation.

According to Mr Joginder Singh Kalsi, an expert on Sikh heritage, all three storeys of the “bunga”, supported by 44 pillars, parabolic arches for roofs and beams, and decorated by cornices and projections, are in a pitiable condition and need immediate repair.

While constructing the “bunga”, care was taken to provide natural light and ventilation through ventilators, which open in the perambulatory path around the holy tank of Harmandar Sahib on one side and in the well dug on the other side. The basement just below the ground-level accommodates a hall for maharaja where he used to hold his court in “Diwan-e-Khas”, accommodating around 300 courtiers and soldiers. Due care was taken to keep the level of the throne (made of marble and decorated with engravings)at a level lower than that of Akal Takht.

There is also a room that was used as jail for political prisoners. Another room on the other side of the wall facing the throne was the treasury where steel chests were installed for rooms of ‘daffadars’ (security in charge of treasury) and security staff. All these are in a dilapidated condition.

The federation has again offered to carry out the restoration work and to convert the basement into a war museum by providing entry and exit from the ‘parikarma’ of the Golden Temple.

The restoration work of two historical gates, named after Sardar Ramgarhia, has been hanging fire due to the allegedly callous attitude of the SGPC, even though the local Municipal Corporation had given its green signal by passing a unanimous resolution in this regard on January 17, 2003.

Several NGOs, teachers, experts and the parents of mentally-challenged children took part in a workshop aimed at creating awareness of the society towards the persons with disabilities through orientation, interaction and association.

They converged at a one-day workshop on “Coping with Genetic and other Disabilities” held at Guru Nanak Dev University in the Holy City recently. The workshop was jointly organised by the Centre for Genetic Disorders and the Department of Human Genetics of the university.

The experts said that at present, India had over six crore physically and mentally challenged persons. Stressing on the importance of the role of the family, they felt that these persons could be rehabilitated if properly taken care of and guided during their childhood, adolescence and adult age by the family, society and NGOs. They suggested some suitable measurers for their rehabilitation in the society.

Mr J.K. Mehta, the founder general secretary of “Parivaar”, a national federation of parents’ associations, in his address, talked about the trauma the parents of disabled children had to undergo, and the need to form organisations and to develop a movement to push the government to ensure modes of rehabilitation of the disabled persons.

Mr Mehta’s son, Mr Akhil Mehta, who is also mentally-challenged, shared his life’s experiences about how he overcame his disability and kept himself busy with work. He enthralled the audience by playing a mouthorgan.

A senior advocate of the Delhi High Court, Ms Harvinder Oberoi, discussed three main government Acts on disability — the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995, the Rehabilitation Council of India Act and the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism. Giving details about these Acts, she talked about their strengths and lacunae.

Mr Satish Kapoor, founder general-secretary of “Brotherhood”, and Mr Deepak Roy, a noted film maker, also shared their views on this occasion.

Four short films “Kinara”, “Bulandiyan”, “Jeevan Chalne Ka Naam” and “Man Ki Chidiya”, which emphasised the need to develop a disability-free environment, were screened on this occasion. The movies also highlighted the success of disabled persons in overcoming all odds with tenacity, and the help from parents and friends.

Dr Inderjit Kaur, president, Pingalwara Charitable Society, said his society had hundreds of disabled children, but it was difficult to find trained teachers for them.

In the afternoon session, two more films and a panel discussion was organised on genetic disability.

Professor Jai Rup Singh, coordinator, Centre for Genetic Disorders, elaborated on the theme and purpose of the workshop. Dr Gursatej Gandhi, head of the Department of Human Genetics, welcomed the experts.

Ms Gursharan Kaur, the wife of Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, released a book and a set of CDs titled ‘Ruh Punjab Di” highlighting the issue of female foeticide on March 24 here.

Spring Dale Educational Society has prepared the book and the CD under its campaign against female foeticide.

Ms Gursharan Kaur appreciated the efforts of the Society towards the problem. She opined that more NGOs should come forward to increase awareness on various social issues among the people.

She said the data about the declining female sex ratio was a clarion call to all segments of the society.

Dr Shivinder Singh Sandhu, managing trustee of the Society, and his wife, Ms Manveen Sandhu, director, Punarjyot Foundation, along with a team of researchers, also plan to urge the Central and the state governments to introduce innovative electronic jamming and data recording devices, which might be incorporated into ultrasound machines to check their misuse by private clinics in determining the sex of the foetus.

Even the Prime Minister, said Dr Sandhu, had lauded the efforts of the Society in propagating mass educational project to ensure that the girl child enjoyed the right to live.

Providing details of the project, he said that they aimed at taking this audio-visual project to the masses with the help of other NGOs, who were working to educate the masses against female foeticide.

Cashing in on the paucity of commercial pilots in India, director of admissions of the American School of Aviation (ASA), Ms Reny Kozman, visited the city to conduct counselling sessions with students aspiring to make aviation as a career.

She said that during her week-long stay, she would meet principals of various colleges and hold counselling sessions with students.

She said that across the world, a dearth of commercial pilots was being felt.

She added that there was no maximum age limit for joining the course in her academy except having passed Plus Two with maths and physics as compulsory subjects.

She said the ASA was a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-certified flight training institution.

The ASA, she said, followed the principles of “quality instruction and safety”.

The aviation institute provided services to both the student pilots and rental pilots, she added.

The ASA’s training aircraft fleet included the current US Air Force trainer — Diamond Katana, and the sophisticated, Symphony 160, and other aircrafts, including Cessna, Piper Warrior, Piper Arrow, Beechcraft Duchess and others, Ms Kozman said.

She added that student loans were also available for the courses.

The Chairperson of the Punjab State Social Welfare Board (PSSWB), Ms Ratna, in a memorandum handed over to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, recently, pleaded for the continuation of the Border Area Projects (BAP) and urged him to direct the Ministry of Women and Child Development to release its 2/3rd share towards salaries of the staff on the patterns of Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura and the Andamans.

In the memorandum, she said the BAP scheme was started in 1976 after the Indo-Pak War and within four years, 12 such projects were started in the border districts of Amritsar, Ferozepore and Gurdaspur for the upliftment of the people living in the border areas, particularly women and children, by providing basic services.

The expenditure on these projects is shared by the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) and the state government in the ratio of 2:1.

Ms Ratna said that since the CSWB declared the BAP as a scheme that was getting phased out, no fresh recruitments were made after 1994.

During 1996-97, the state government had allotted five ICDS blocks to the PSSWB and merged 55 employess of the BAP in these blocks on the basis of seniority. As a result, the three BAPs, in Pathankot, Ferozepore and Lopoke, were phased out.

The chairperson said that the Ministry of Human Resources and Development and the Ministry of Women and Child Development had requested the state government to absorb the BAPs employees in the newly-allotted ICDS blocks or any other ongoing state government programme, as they had decided to close down the projects from April 2005, while the Government of India approved the functioning of these projects in J&K, Tripura and Andman for 2005-06 as a special case.

She added that Punjab, too, had suffered from terrorism and there was still a need for such projects in the border villages.

In a rare gesture, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, took personal initiative to interact with various business and social delegations during his recent visit to the Holy City.

He walked up to them in the lush lawns of the Circuit House and heard their charter of demands in relation to trade across the border, infrastructural upgradation for import and export and setting up of a SEZ, as promised by him during his earlier visit.

Assuring the delegation of the Punjab Rice Millers’ and Exporters’ Association, the Prime Minister said he would look into the suggestions of creating uniform tax zone for free movement of grains among the northern states to promote the export of Basmati rice.

Mr Rajeev Setia, president of the association, felt the need for setting up of a Basmati Development Board on the lines of Tea and Coffee Board for a concerted effort to boost the export of Basmati rice across the world. He said that India enjoyed an edge in this variety of rice due to its unique flavour and taste.

The deputation of Punjab Pardesh Beopar Mandal took up the issue of separate goods corridor at Wagah for free flow of goods for export and import.

The Mandal suggested the setting up of a Amritsar Development Authority for comprehensive and overall development of the city under the direct supervision of the Central government.

The Mandal also brought the issue of the reopening of 670 cases of declared jewellery under the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme, 1997, under Section 1948 of the I-T rules to the notice of the Prime Minister.

Expressing his resentment, Mr Amrit Lal Jain, president of the Mandal, said the I-T Department was making full addition of the amounts with penalty and interest, and they were facing immense harassment from the department.

Dr Manmohan Singh immediately asked his officers to look into the matter.

The delegation of Amritsar Bar Association, led by its president, Mr Bhagwant Singh Sialka, urged the Prime Minister to release Rs 15 crore as the Central grant for the construction of lawyers’ chambers at the local courts.

Dr Manmohan Singh gave his assurance to the association that he would look into the viability of the project.

The delegation of Textile Manufacturers’ Association, led by Mr H.S. Makhini, apprised the Prime Minister of the “worsening” condition of the industry that was once a flourishing textile hub of the country.

A delegation of Goindwal Industrial Welfare Association, led by Colonel (retd) Amarjit Singh, sought special relief package, including the tax benefits and tax holiday for a minimum of 10 years and a loan waiver of Rs 5 to 7 crore.

A joint annual paediatrics conference “Amritsar Pedicon 2006” was held here recently by the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), Amritsar. Dr Meharban Singh, former Professor and Head, Paediatrics, AIIMS, New Delhi, was the chief guest.

Dr H.L. Khanna, President of the IAP, Punjab, and organising chairperson of the conference, read out the welcome address as well as the presidential address. Dr Karnail Singh, Professor and Head, Paediatrics, Government Medical College, Amritsar, read out the report detailing various achievements of the IAP during the session 2005-06.

While delivering a lecture on “Brain and Nutrition: How To Have Smart Babies?”, Dr Meharban Singh appealed to the doctors to be good and rational rather than behave like technocrats, and said that they should not believe in commercialisation of profession. He also stressed on the need of following appropriate measures of nutrition and environment during foetal life and during infancy and pre-school years as well. He also said that breast-feeding played a vital role as the mother’s milk contained large amount of DHA.

He said watching excessive TV and intake of junk foods by the children adversely affect the development of children.

Dr B.R. Thapa, Professor and Head, Paediatric Gastroenterology, PGIMER, Chandigarh, in his lecture on celiac disease, said the ailment, a well-recognised disease in north India, was also known as wheat allergy. He said that recently there a rise in cases of celiac disease, where the affected children showed symptoms like chronic diarrhoea, anaemia and growth failure.

Dr V.P. Choudhary, Professor, Hematology, AIIMS, in his lecture on “Aplastic Anaemia”, said the prevalence of this type of disease was increasing with industrialisation.

Although a fatal disease, with the current advances like bone marrow transplantation and immuno suppressive therapy, it could be cured to the extent of 60 per cent or more, he added.

Dr Palwinder Singh, Medical Officer, Paediatrics, GMC, Amritsar, said the main aim of the conference was to make the delegates aware about the current concept of some special childhood diseases, so that they would be able to provide their best possible services to the patients.

About 200 delegates, including faculty and postgraduates of various medical colleges, and practising paediatricians from different parts of the state, attended the conference.

The Sarup Rani Government College for Women celebrated its “Alumni Day” here recently.

On the occasion, Principal of the college, Ms Jasmeet Nayyar, urged the former students of the college to help the college gain newer heights in the education and the empowerment of women. Announcing an association, “Each One, Educate One”, Ms Nayyar said the college was committed to educating girls from financially-weaker families. She said a contribution of Rs 3,200 would meet the entire demands of one such student in consonance with the low fee structure of the college, which was in the ratio of 1:13 compared to private colleges.

The college, she said, was running four vocational courses — Communication Skills and Functional English, Functional Hindi, Dietetics and Nutrition, and Office Management and Secretarial Practices.

The college last year started offering a masters’ course in English and is also providing degree courses in geography and music (vocal and instrumental). The principal also announced the starting of fresh courses in the college, including B.Sc (Computers), a course in Aviation and a post-graduation in Dance.

The college also honoured the alumni who had excelled in their chosen fields, including Ms Sharan Makkar, an eminent Punjabi poetess, Ms Jasjit Chahchi, a gynaecologist, and Ms Rita Gupta, an advocate.

The college, established in 1932, would celebrate its diamond jubilee next year.

A Special Narcotics Cell (SNC), Punjab, with executive powers, was formally inaugurated by the ADGP (Intelligence), Mr J. P. Virdi, here recently.

The cell, with a specialised task force, would act towards curbing smuggling of narcotics and eradicating drug abuse, besides keeping a watch on Hawala transactions, and collecting intelligence relating to the narcotics trade. It would also act as a nodal agency on behalf of the Punjab Police for maintaining coordination with other agencies and organisations monitoring the illegal trade within and outside the state.

Mr Virdi said the SNC would work in close coordination with counter intelligence agencies. He said the SNC was a timely effort towards the control and eradication of drug abuse.

The cell, he said, was under the direct control of the ADGP, while the SSP would be the immediate supervisory officer.

The ADGP called upon the people to come forward and fight against narcotics trade which, he said, had infected the body and soul of the state with the youths taking to drugs like never before.

Mr Sukhdev Singh, the SSP of the cell, said that within a short span, the cell had recovered 7.8 kg of heroin worth Rs 8 crore, besides fake Indian currency of Rs 1.30 lakh. He added that the cell had also conducted joint operations in coordination with the Tarn Taran police and effected heavy recoveries of manufactured drugs in Bhikhiwind and Jhabal.