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Lost glory
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MC nod to Rs 3-crore project
for potable water
Demand for Palki Sahib, Sukh Aasan Sahibs on rise
Holy City sans government college for boys
‘Jaspal Singh Hanjraw was a multi-faceted personality’
Helping poor children lead dignified life
PM still leader of Opposition in Hindu College records
Teachers from USA visit city to study education system
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Lost glory
Situated on the old Lahore-Delhi road, Fatehabad was home to a large number of heritage buildings, including imperial serais, but many of them have simply disappeared. Today even their ruins are non-existent.
Fatehabad is probably much older than Amritsar and Tarn Taran. It is rich with Mughal and Sikh architecture, and blessed with the visits of Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Arjun Dev. It was Sher Shah Suri (1472-1545) who first linked Painam near Dhaka, now in Bangladesh, with Peshawar that was in Afghanistan until Maharajah Ranjit Singh annexed it by stitching together several existing roads. The entire road was finished during Akbar’s reign. Kos (1 kos is roughly 3 km) minars were built to show the way and after every 20 kos or so, a serai was built. Cubicles with verandahs for travellers to stay in were built along the walls. Even in these utilitarian serais, the Mughal rulers could not resist adding vast mosaic flourishes to gates. Mr Jagmohan Dayal Singh, a resident of the ancient town, says that a large number of serais existed during the early part of the 20th century. For the safety of the trade route, garrison was stationed at Fatehabad Fort since the times of Mahmood Ghazni. The imperial serai was built for night halt of Mughal armies and carvan. The Amritsar Gazetteer mentions that the serai at Fatehabad is also of the same design as that of Naurangabad, Serai Amanat Khan and Serai Noordin. During the Mughal period, the “Badshai Road” passed from Attari to Goindwal Sahib via Serai Amanat Khan, Noordi, Naurangabad and Fatehabad, all of which are situated in Tarn Taran district. The serais are almost of similar design and dimensions. These places virtually form fortified habitations, the whole population residing within the four walls of the serais that had two gates on the opposite sides. While the boundary walls of the majestic serai-cum- fort have been demolished by residents, only two ornamental gates and royal mosque could be saved. Many small mosques that dotted the ancient town (Fatehabad) have lost their existence. Many houses have mushroomed within the fort complex. The grand buildings with decorated walls, water tanks, wells and fountains surrounded by orchards once made this place the most beautiful place in the region. The inner and outer walls of the serai were sculptured with green and blue stones. The rest of the monuments with rotting doors and crumbling masonry present a sorry state of affairs. In fact, these monuments may collapse any time. Now Fatehabad, with crumbling old havelis and alleys, still retains the pre-Partition mix of Sikh, Hindu and Muslim architectural styles. The fifth Sikh Guru frequented Fatehabad. The first Sikh Guru also visited this place and penned Gurbani in praise of nature. Mr Barinder Dyal Singh claims that Fatehabad had one of the oldest schools of the state established in 1870s. Earlier, it was a madrasa that was later converted into school by the British administration. The old building of the school has lost its existence now. Telling about the history of Fatehabad, Ms Meenu Sharma, a resident, claims that Fatehabad and its adjoining areas were once inhabited by the Khokhar tribe. According to “A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province”, authored by Denzil Ibbetson in 1883, based on census report for Punjab: “It mentions the Khokhars in the Mohammadan historians of India as a tribe which resisted the invasion of Mahmood Ghazni with bare heads and feet armed with spears. These Khokhars had settlements on Beas and Sutlej, especially in the settlements of Varowal (about 12 kilometres from Fatehabad), Bharowal and Kaluwahan (now known as Kahnuwan in Gurdaspur district). According to the account of writers of Mahmood Ghazni, the Khokhars were constant source of trouble for the Governor of Lahore appointed by Ghazni, and to control them, a fortress was constructed on the banks of Beas between Bharowal and Verowal, which was called Serai town of Fatehabad. The name Fatehabad signified the sign of victory against the Khokhars. According to Griffin Lepel, the fortress of Fatehabad during the Sikh Misl period was besieged by the forces of Ahluwalia Misl under the command of Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. As the fort was quite strong, it held out for many days. Then the commander of the fort, on the condition of safe passage to Lahore for the entire garrison, decided to relinquish the fort to Ahluwalia forces. It remained the capital of Ahluwalia Misl until Nawab Fateh Singh shifted his base to Kapurthala due to the increasing power of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The ancient town of Fatehabad is full of history. Mr Charnjit Singh, who is the direct descendant of General Attar Singh, a great Sikh warrior, said that after defeating the major rajas of the Indian subcontinent, the conditions were peaceful for Mohammad Ghauri, but in Punjab they were not satisfactory. In this region, the Khokhars, contemporaries of Mohammad Ghauri, used to rebel. So, Mohammad Ghauri came to this region to punish them. He let loose terror on the Khokhars by destroying and burning their strongholds near Lahore and on the banks of Beas. The Muslim historians say that a few raiders who were Khokhars and had joined Mohammad Ghauri’s army in disguise attacked him and he was assassinated along with his three guards. Mohammad Ghauri was killed brutally. He had sustained 22 wounds on his body. The ancient village of Fatehabad was completely destroyed by “shahi” (royal) forces of Emperor Jahangir for support given to Khusro by the local population. Later, the residents moved to Fatehabad Fort, reportedly built by Sher Shah Suri. The Palace of Sardar Ahluwalia, called “Mai Deori” was sold recently and the purchasers have razed the great Sikh heritage to ground. The old and historical building of “Nanak Padao” has been razed and a new building has come up. This was the place where Maharaja Ranjit Singh had come to condole the death of Nawab Bhag Singh, father of Nawab Fateh Singh (nephew of Sardar Ahluwalia). Both Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Nawab Fateh Singh exchanged their turbans in this holy shrine. However, Fateh Singh developed differences with the Maharaja and he migrated to Kapurthala and made that town his capital. The 250-year-old haveli of General Rattan Singh that was later converted into the court by Sarkar Basant Singh (great-grandson of Gen Rattan Singh) has been given a new look. Now this building is the abode of Mr Charnjit Singh, Senior Vice-President of the Bhartiya Kisan Union. However, Mr Charnjit Singh, the direct descendant of Gen Attar Singh, possesses a “patta” (revenue deed), written in Persian script and signed by Nawab Bhag Singh, the first cousin of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. This deed that begins with “Akal Sahai”, signed on 1812 AD, reads, “With the grace of Almighty, the 22 villages from Jandiala to Harike are granted to Bibi Sahib (daughter of Nawab Bhag Singh) on the above-lined military conditions and will remain so until the above conditions are met.” As per “The Rajas of Punjab” written by Griffin H Lepel, Under-Secretary, Government of Punjab, published in 1870, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia captured Raikot from the Pathans and Rajputs of Verowal in 1771 . Jassa Singh had two daughters, one of them was married to Raja Maha Singh of Fatehabad, and the second was married to Raja Amar Singh of Tnungwala, near Amritsar. The Samadh of Raja Mohan Singh, the walls of which are adorned with beautiful frescos, is in a dilapidated condition. The frescos have been plastered and have lost their elegance. Adina Beg, Subedar of Jalandhar, was defeated by Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia near Khaddor Sahib and Fatehabad. Ahluwalia remained present at Fatehabad till his death. He liberated about 2200 innocent girls from the clutches of Ahmad Shah Abdali and handed them over to their parents and earned the name of “Bandi Chhor”. This incident happened near Goindwal Sahib. The daughter of Ahluwalia was married to one Mohan Singh, alias Mahan Singh, of Fatehabad whose house and samadh are still at Fatehabad. Ahluwalia’s cousin and blood sister of Nawab Bhag Singh was married to Gen Rattan Singh Bhar whose palace is still situated in Fatehabad.
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MC nod to Rs 3-crore project
for potable water
The Municipal Corporation has brought eighth Over Head Service Reservoirs (OHSR) into operation after about two decades through a Rs 3-crore project for supplying potable water to the walled city.
As many as 11 OHSRs are located in and around the walled city, which has a population of about 4 lakh. However, they have been lying unused for the past two decades, as people were preferring tubewells, a latest and easy technology at that time. Rising population and receding water table took a toll on tubewells which required more depth to get water after two to three years. Mr A.S Dhaliwal, Superintendent Engineer, said that water table was decreasing at the rate of 0.5 metre annually, which made tubewells dysfunctional after a couple of years. Meanwhile, during a search for finding a viable solution, the experts found OHSRs a viable and long lasting alternative. In the absence of any reading material about them they took advice from retired persons. Mr K.S. Kang, Commissioner MC, said that work on replacing 40,000 feet galvanised iron pipes and cast iron pipes was going on at war footing and 15,000 feet pipes had been replaced. He informed that the contract had been given to a private company which would also be responsible for its maintenance for the next three years. Captain Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister, inaugurated the project during his visit to the city last December. Each reservoir with a capacity of two lakh gallons would provide potable water to the localities. He said that tubewells had been installed with each reservoir, which took about eight hours to fill. It empties water in just two hours. However, he rued the fact that about 55 per cent of water got wasted, which they called non-revenue water. He said that it was high time that people realised the value of water and used it judiciously. |
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Demand for Palki Sahib, Sukh Aasan Sahibs on rise
People have their own way to express their faith in their religion. Some donate huge sums of money for the construction or the kar seva of a gurdwara, while some arrange langars and chabbils for the devotees depending on their financial capacity. But there are people who express their faith by donating Palki Sahib and Sukh Aasan Sahibs.
The Palki Sahib and Sukh Aasan Sahibs are not only donated to the gurdwaras, but also the people from across the world get them prepared for keeping them in their houses. Due to the over busy schedule of the people, who don’t have time to visit gurdwaras to pay obeisance, they prefer to keep the one in their houses so that they could pray both in the morning and the evening. Various types of Palki Sahibs are being manufactured as per the demand, which include golden, steel, teak ply with polish and with sunmica. Mr Pritpal Singh of a Furniture House near Golden Temple, says basically the cost of the Palki Sahib depends on the labour put in. Generally, it takes five to six days for making a Palki Sahib of teak ply or in sunmica, but if the people demand Palki Sahib with woodcarving then it takes about a month, he adds. He says devotees order for Sukh Aasan Sahib, along with Palki Sahib, for keeping the Guru Granth Sahib. Sukh Aasan Sahib is also used for keeping Rumalas and Gutkas, he added. The Palki Sahibs, along with Sukh Aasan Sahib, which are donated to gurdwaras by the people, cost Rs 6,000 to 15,000 and Rs 10,000 to 30,000, respectively. And the smaller ones, which are prepared for keeping in the houses, cost Rs 2,000 to 5,000 and Rs 5,000 to 10,000, respectively. He further adds that they also charge up to Rs 1,000 for the home delivery depending on the distance. Mr Pritpal Singh says that people not only from Punjab, but also from far off places and metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata order for it. He said they also provide the facility of home delivery in India only. He said these Palki Sahibs and Sukh Aasan Sahibs are even exported to countries like the USA, Hong Kong and Thailand, where there is a good demand for them. He added that these are packed in cardboard boxes and later, assembled there. |
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Holy City sans government college for boys
When there is a talk on the overall development of this border town, which has become one of the most prominent destinations for the tourists after the normalisation of Indo-Pak relations, the education perhaps comes in the end of this agenda (of development) of the government. The politicians announced various ‘developmental’ projects, but never bothered to open a government college for boys in the Holy City.
This is one of the prime demands of the residents of this more than 400 years old city for a long time now. A ray of hope was enlightened for youths belonging to middle and lower class of families, when Dr Manmohan Singh, who hails from this city, became the Prime Minister. However, nothing concrete happened so far in this regard. The only government college for boys, which was opened in 1997 amid much fanfare, was closed down after four years of its inauguration. Thanks to the apathetic attitude of the government towards providing any building and infrastructure to the college. The opening of the first ever government college for boys in the city had come as a blessing for the lower middle and middle class who could not afford the exorbitant fee structure of private colleges. Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta, senior Akali leader and the then Education Minister and Ms Laxmi Kanta Chawla, firebrand BJP leader, take credit to get the college opened, as they made efforts to run it in the building of deaf and dumb school, owned by the District Red Cross Society. The college was closed down, as it did not have enough infrastructure, including library, playground, classrooms and furniture, required for a college. Besides, it was also plagued by the absence of regular staff for providing education. The college was closed down even after the assurances of prominent politicians and MLAs. Ms Laxmi Kanta Chawla, state Vice-president of the BJP, strongly criticising the Congress government, alleged that instead of providing any building or infrastructure to the government’s sole boys college, the first thing it did after coming to power was to close it down. She further alleged that education was worst hit field during the four years of tenure of the Congress. She said it took 10 years’ effort to open the college though in a rented building, but Congress took a few days to close it down. She claimed that as soon as their party would come to power, she would try to reopen the college. Mr Brij Bedi, industrialist and social worker, said the politicians and administration had become inept and non-functional. He said the successive governments, which claimed to provide education to the poorest of the poor people, were least bothered about providing education to one and all after coming to power. He said only elite class people could afford education in private colleges, while the youths from the poor and middle class failed to get higher education due to such wrong policies of governments. He said if the government could provide Rs five crore to MLAs for area development, “most of which remained unused”, why it could not allot money for the construction of educational institutes. Mr Rajkumar Verka, Parliamentary Secretary for Education, when contacted, said the matter was taken up with the government, which had asked the Improvement Trust to allot land for building the college. He said the government had further sought report from the concerned departments. He expressed hope that this prime demand of the residents of the city would be fulfilled soon. |
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‘Jaspal Singh Hanjraw was a multi-faceted personality’
Jaspal Singh Hanjraw, a reputed writer, teacher and singer, passed away on May 26. Art and culture experts say that he was a multi-faceted personality. He was born in a tiny village near Fatehgarh Churian in January 1953.
Jaspal Singh was a litterateur par excellence. He did Gyani, M.A. and M.phil in Punjabi. An avid reader, he was doing his Ph.D. on ‘Punjabi war
which Adarsh de Badalde Paripekh’ just before his death. He also penned many stories, poems, songs and even sung them in his melodious voice. His analytical book ‘Pragtiwad’, a collection of short stories of Santokh Singh, created a stir among Punjabi scholars. Jaspal Singh had a genial personality, which brought him many friends even out of his circle. Jaspal Singh, a sympathetic writer, never hitched to lend a helping hand to the needy. He was working as Punjabi teacher at Government Secondary School, Vishoa. Though throughout his life he fought like a committed soldier, but the deadly disease of cancer eventually consumed him. He was a loving father and caring husband. He is survived by his wife Sukhraj Kaur, daughter Amanpreet Kaur and son Navpreet Singh. Jaspal Singh was general secretary of the Sahitya Sabha of Fathegarh Churian and an active member of Majha Sahitya and of the cultural society of Gurdaspur and Amritsar. He was also acting district president of Government Secondary School Teachers’ Union. He played an active role for realisation of teachers’ demand. He also courted arrest during the protest rally in Chandigarh in favour of Punjabi language organised by Punjabi Writers’ Forum. People were fond of his melodious voice and many famous singers were inspired by his way of singing Heer and Mirza. |
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Helping poor children lead dignified life
Mother Teresa established 168 charitable homes across the country with a view to ameliorate the sufferings of poor and downtrodden. One of such homes, famous as Mother Teresa Children Home, is located here on the Ajnala Road near Rajasansi International Airport.
The local Orphanage was started in 1988 and is managed by six nuns. The orphanage provides succour to orphans, children brought from railway stations, bus stands and even hospitals. Incharge of the Children Home is sister Odile. She said it was financed by ‘Mission of Charity’ with its headquarters in Kolkata and even received help from generous people from the city. She said young collegiate girls often visit the home and brought eatables for the children. They (young girls) even donate their pocket money. The home has about 25 children from the age group of 0-17. Some of the inmates are blind and handicap. Little children are paid proper care, to look after them there are five trained maids. It also has a dispensary to offer immediate medical assistance if need arose children are also taken to Paarvati Devi Hospital, which gives treatment at concession. As far as their education is concerned, the inmates study at St. Mary School up to class fifth. For pursuing higher education, they are admitted to St. Patric School. Sister Odile said arrangement for special tuition classes had also been made in the orphanage. Besides, stress on sports is also given. Arrangement for games like football, badminton, carom and others have been made in the orphanage. Another Sister Placid, Incharge medicine section, says that out of the orphanage, medicines worth about Rs 10,000 are distributed monthly among the needy villagers through mobile medical clinic. Mother, as Mother Teresa was fondly called, began her mission of charity with few nuns and some other workers in 1991. She was the force behind the mission. She not only tirelessly worked for the needy and sufferers, but also felt their pain. Owing to her epical work, she is respected and acknowledged all around the globe. She once said that the aim of these Homes was to lend a helping hand to those who have nowhere to go. |
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PM still leader of Opposition in Hindu College records
If the information brochure 2006-07 of the Hindu College is to be believed, then Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, is still the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha. Interestingly, Hindu College is the alma mater of the Prime Minister.
This is not only the anomaly. There are many more of this kind. For instance, Mr R L Bhatia, Governor of Kerala, is shown as Member of Lok Sabha, and Mr Justice (retd) R L Anand, as the present judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Mr Nirpinder Singh Rattan is designated as Principal Secretary Higher Education. These personalities have been the students of the college. There are certain more discrepancies in the brochure. Mr K. J. S. Ahluwalia, Biochemist and local resident, said that this had caused unprecedented damage to the reputation of the college. The college had not updated its records and the brochure was a clear example of this, Mr Ahluwalia added. Established in 1924, Hindu College is proud of producing a number of prominent personalities of the country. The college is considered one of the most prestigious colleges of North India. These personalities include former Indian cricket teams great Bishan Singh Bedi and Madan Lal and Field Marshal S.H.F.J Manekshaw. Mr K.K. Arora, Director of the college, when contacted, asked the reporter to contact the officiating Principal, Professor V P Lumba. However, the officiating Principal was not available for comments. |
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Teachers from USA visit city to study education system
As a part of their six-week study tour to India, a group of 16 teachers from the USA visited the holy city on July 9.
The programme, titled ‘Broadening the Knowledge Base on India’, aims at providing the participants with a broader insight into India’s history, society, cultural heritage, religion and economic development. Ms Gail Ingram, leader of the group, said that this was his “maiden” visit to the country and it had broken several myths about India. She said like an average American, India meant three Ps – population, pollution and poverty. “However, after remaining just for a week in this beautiful country with its colourful people all pre notions had broken,” she added. She felt that being a teacher, she was the right person to learn about this country, which was the source of one of the oldest civilizations in the world. She said after returning to her country, she would teach her students about the untouched aspects of India with its diverse cultures, food habits and multi-religions. They visited the Government ITI for Women and interacted with its students and staff. Mr D.S. Chauhan, Principal of the Institute, welcomed the foreign guests. The students of the institute exhibited their artistic skills on bhangra and giddha. Ms Vartika Tarun Mudaliar, Manager, U.S. Programm United States Educational Foundation in India, said the focus was on imparting practical knowledge on different aspects of the study of India, which would help the US educators in identifying reference materials and resources on this Asian country. It would also encourage the participants with a systematic inquiry into the Indian education system, opportunities for institutional link-building and expanding the network of the librarians, teachers and curriculum specialists from the USA, who are familiar with India. The programme consists of two phases, namely, academic study and field visits. It will use a multi-disciplinary approach involving formal lectures, interviews and discussions with prominent scholars on different aspects of India and role of Indian government agencies, academic institutions and libraries and managing and disseminating information. The field visit phase of about four weeks would take participants to Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Mysore, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata and Varanasi, besides the Holy City, to expose participants to the geographical and regional diversities of the country along with further building upon the academic content of the programme. During their sojourn to the city, they also visited Government Elementary School, Kaonke, and observed the rural way of education. They also visited some houses of the village with a view to understand the life style of villagers. They paid obeisance at the Golden Temple, before visiting Jallianwala Bagh. |
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