Historical Gurdwaras in India

State of ASSAM

Dhubri

Janamsakhis are unanimous about Guru Nanak Dev's visit to Kamrup (Assam) but no sangat or historical shrine dedicated to him survives.

Guru Tegh Bahadur visited Assam in 1670. He had accompanied Raja Ram Singh of Amber who had been sent by Aurangzeb to quell a rebellion by the Ahom chief Chakradhwaj. Assam was a difficult country to operate in and for Raja Ram Singh it was a task assigned to him as a punishment because it was from his custody that Shiva Ji had escaped a few years earlier. Guru Tegh Bahadur's presence, therefore, was a moral booster to him and his troop's morale. The Guru's role was, however, more active than a mere presence. A pacifist that he was, he helped conclude a no-war agreement between the two sides. As a monument to peace, a high mound as raised to which every soldier contributed five shieldfuls of earth. This mound standing on the right bank of Brahmpra River at Dhubri, a sub-divisional town in Goalpara district of Assam, came to be treated as a sacred shrine. A Gurdwara was also built near it on the spot where Guru Tegh Bahadur had stayed and negotiated peace. It was looked after by Udasi priests until it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1896-97 circa. Bhai Ram Singh, an officiant of the shrine, reconstructed a room in 1901. The mahants also possessed a farman (fiat) of a Mughal emperor pertaining to a land grant to the shrine. In 1902-03, Mahant Jai Singh took this Farman with him when he went to Punjab to raise funds through donations for the Gurdwara building under reconstruction. Unfortunately Bhai Jai Singh died somewhere near Amritsar, and the Farman was lost.

1) Gurdwara Thara Sahib or Damdama Sahib - In 1966, a Gurdwara in a small octagonal hut with sloping roof was also set up on top of the mound. It is called Thara Sahib or Damdama Sahib.

2) Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur - The other shrien called Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur is in a square hall with wooden walls and sloping roof. Further development of the Gurdwara is afoot under the Sikh Pratinidhi Board Eastern Zone and the local managing committee.

For reaching Dhubri rail route via Katihar and Siliguri convenient. One has to change at Fakiragram junction for Dhubri, a distance of about 70 kilometres by rail or road.