Ayodhya parallel: A gurdwara in Lahore at the core of a bitter battle between Sikhs and Muslims

by HAROON KHALID

Mani Singh, priest of the Harmandir Sahib, is believed to have been executed by the Lahore governor close to the place where the Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj stands. PHOTO/Gurbar Akaal/Wikimedia Commons

It is an immaculate white building, double storeyed, with a small dome on the top. A nishan sahib (flag) on a pole next to it signifies that a community of Khalsa now occupies the precincts.

All year round, Sikh pilgrims visit this gurdwara, choosing to spend a few days in the rooms facing the shrine.

Every day, the Guru Granth Sahib is recited and then, following rituals, placed in a special room reserved solely for the holy scripture, the living guru.

Activities at the Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj in Lahore are always low key, with just a handful of people around at any given time.

But outside its walls, there is a great big rush with several workshops of ironsmiths and beyond those, a market selling all kinds of second-hand goods, Lahore’s famous Landa Bazaar.

As Sikh pilgrims walk in and out of the gurdwara, sometimes venturing into the market, the ironsmiths and other shopkeepers barely spare them a glance, having gotten used to their presence after the construction of the shrine in 2004.

The Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj – much like the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh – has a long and tumultuous history, having been a bone of contention between the city’s Sikhs and Muslims.

Mosque or gurdwara?

The gurdwara is located a little outside the walled city of Lahore, in an area called Nalaukha that is believed to have once housed the fabled palace of Prince Dara Shikoh.

Shikoh served as governor of Lahore before his assassination at the hands of his younger brother, Aurangzeb.

The Sikhs believe that it was at this site that hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children from the community were massacred on the orders of Mir Mannu, the governor of Lahore and representative of the Mughal Empire.

Coming to power in 1764, Mir Mannu inherited a staunch anti-Sikh sentiment that had dominated Sikh-Mughal relations since the time of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh guru.

Throughout his lifetime, the guru had fought several battles against Emperor Aurangzeb and lost all his sons in the struggle.

After the guru, his devotee Banda Singh Bahadur took up the mantle and continued the fight. After causing much havoc, he was captured and executed.

Mani Singh, the priest of the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), took up the political affairs of the community after his execution.

Annoyed by the ever increasing military strength of the Sikhs, the Mughals and their governors began persecuting innocent members of the Sikh community.

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