Historical Gurdwaras in India

State of HARYANA

Ambala

There are five historical Sikh shrines in Ambala City. Ambala during the time of the Gurus was a small place. The major city of the region was Sirhind. Chhat-Banur was another big town. According to Gazetteer of India, Ambala under the Muslim rule "receives little mention except as an appurtenance to Sirhind……. The practical interest of the local annals begins with the rise of the Sikh principalities south of the Sutlej during the latter half of the eighteenth century." (Even in 1901, only about 28,000 souls lived in Ambala excluding the cantonment). Even then, lying on the trunk route, Ambala must have been a halting station for travelers.

1) Gurdwara Baoli Sahib or Gurdwara Manji Sahib - Guru Hargobind is said to have stayed here overnight while on his way to meet emperor Jahangir. The villagers of the nearby Khurampur Majri complained of perennial scarcity of drinking water. The Guru encouraged them a dig a baoli and instructed some Sikhs who lived here to assist the villagers in digging and lining the baoli. The Guru was pleased to see the work completed on his return from Delhi. The Sikhs established a memorial platform, Manji Sahib, at the place where the Guru had stayed near the baoli. But the baoli again got partly filled up and fell into disuse. After the conquest of Sirhind in 1764, when the Dal Khalsa distributed territories among various misls, Ambala was occupied by Sardar Mehar Singh of Nishananwali Misl. He got the baoli cleared and cleaned and established a Gurdwara at the site of the manji Sahib. This is the present Gurdwara Manji Sahib, the premier Gurdwara of Ambala. Maharaja Hira Singh of Nabha (1871-1911) rebuilt it in the beginning of the 20th century. Further development took place after 1947. The Gurdwara is close to the first bus stop of the city when approached from Punjab by the Grand Trunk Road. The old baoli is still there and therefore the Gurdwara is also called Baoli Sahib.

2) Gurdwara Badshahi Bagh Patshahi Dasvin - AND
3) Gurdwara Gobindpura - Two other Gurdwaras, dedicated to the memory of Guru Gobind Singh, who is said to have visited it during his stay at Lakhnaur in 1670-71, are connected by a legend that young Gobind Rai made sparrows kill a hawk. These are, Gurdwara Badshahi Bagh patshahi Dasvin enar the civil courts, and Gurdwara Gobindpura Patshahi Dasvin located along the Jain College Road close to Labbhu Ka Talab (lit. Labbhu's pond). It is said that Guru Gobind Singh came on a hunting excursion. Once Pir Nur Din or Mir Din, the haughty priest of the shrine of Pir Gaib Shah near the site of Gurdwara Badshahi bagh, ridiculed the young son of a holy man going out hunting and boastfully brought out his own hawk for a kill. It was then that Guru Gobind Singh set some sparrows against the Pir's hawk which flew away badly mauled and fell down dead near Labbhu Ka Talab, where another Pir, Sayyad Shah, saw the miracle, and came to pay homage to the miracle-maker. Pir Nur Din, too, his pride now humbled, fell at the child's feet and asked his forgiveness and blessing. Pir Sayyad Shah also prayed for a well of sweet water because the sub-soil water all around was brackish. Guru Gobind Singh pointed to a spot where to dig, and surely enough the water of the new well tasted sweet. This two Gurdwaras were also established by Sardar Mehar Singh of Nishananwali Misl. Gurdwara Badshahi Bagh was destroyed by British shelling on a rebel force during the 1857 mutiny. It was rebuilt only in 1931 by Sant Gurmukh Singh of Patiala. Its present building is however the result of another reconstruction, this time by Sants of the Nirmala sect who are still managing it. The present building of Gurdwara Gobindpura is also a product of post-independence era.

4) Gurdwara Sat Sang Sahib - The remaining two historical Gurdwaras are related to the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur, and the carrying of his head to Kiratpur and Chakk Nanaki by Bhai Jaita in November 1675. Gurdwara Sat Sang Sahib is on the Hospital Road in Mohalla Kukharan (lit. potters) on the site where Bhai Jaita traveling incognito, with the Guru's severed head placed in a basket and carried on his head, had first halted on his arrival from Traori and enquired about any Sikh's house. One Mehar Dhumian directed him to a house where he spent the night and where now stands Gurdwara Sis Ganj in Mohalla Kainth Majri close to the shrine of Hazrat Tawakkal Shah Naqshbandi.

5) Gurdwara Sis Ganj (Mohalla Kainth Majri) - When Guru Gobind Singh passed through Ambala on his way to Kurukshetra in 1702, he alighted under a tree near the potter's huts. Mehar Dhumian, now an old man, told him about the stranger with basket who had stayed under the same tree 27 years earlier. When Guru Gobind Singh related to him the story of his father's martyrdom and of the courageous devotee who had conveyed the former Guru's severed head to Anandpur, Mehar Dhumian bowed to him in awe and wonder. The story spread and many people assembled to see Guru Gobind Singh, who held a congregation (satsang) there. The Guru is also said to have visited the house where Bhai Jaita had stayed overnight. Both places became holy for the devotees who established tharas (platforms) at them where they occasionally assembled for prayers. Gurdwara Satsant Sahib remained in private hands till 1934 when a local committee was formed to manage it. A new building was raised during 1935. Further development has taken place since. A large hall now encloses the old double-storey domed structure. To acquire Gurdwara Sis Ganj the Sikhs had to fight a court case, which going in their favour, the newly formed Shriomani Gurdwara Committee took it over in 1926. All the five Gurdwaras are now administered by S.G.P.C. through a local committee, which has its office at Gurdwara manji Sahib (Baoli Sahib).