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Gurdwara Shahid Ganj Singh Singhania

The Gurdwara Shahid Ganj Singh Singhania, also known as Gurdwara Shaheedganj Singh Singhnian, is a historic Sikh gurdwara at Naulakha Bazaar in Lahore, Pakistan, which marks the site where over 100,000 Sikh men and women lost their lives in the 18th century. Sikhs were executed at the site during the periods of Zakaria Khan, Yahya Khan, Shah Nawaz Khan, Mir Mannu, and Adina Beg. It is located opposite of Gurdwara Bhai Taru Singh. Bhai Mani Singh was martyred at this site on 14 June 1738.

History

In 1721, Zakariya Khan was appointed governor of Lahore by the Mughal court and embarked on a campaign to eradicate the Sikhs. In 1739, hundred of Sikhs were rounded-up and executed at Lahore at a horse-market that later became known as Shahidganj. Furthermore, anyone caught helping Sikhs would be punished and those who cut the hair of Sikhs, provided a Sikh head, or gave intel on Sikhs were rewarded. In 1745, Zakaria Khan sent a force to Phula village to arrest Bhai Taru Singh, as he had been providing assistance to Sikhs. Bhai Taru Singh was subsequently executed at Lahore.

During the Chhota Ghallughara of 1746, the Sikh inhabitants of Lahore were first rounded up, then executed on 10 March 1746. Hundreds of Sikhs living in Lahore were rounded up and executed. The captives from the group of Sikhs that had been originally encamped in the Kahnuwan jungle but later captured while attempting to escape were marched back to Lahore, paraded in the streets and publicly beheaded. For months, they were held and paraded atop of donkeys in Lahore. The captured Sikhs were ultimately killed specifically at Nakhas Chowk in Lahore. The heads of thousands of Sikhs were carried on carts and hung at the gates of Lahore as trophies. Minarets were constructed out of piles of dismembered Sikh heads and their decapitated and mangled bodies were buried within the walls of a mosque.

The Mughals officially restarted their anti-Sikh campaign with the appointment of Shah Nawaz as subahdar in 1747. Between 1748–53, Mir Mannu had conducted his own persecution of the Sikhs and captured five-hundred Sikhs at Ram Rauni through the assistance of Adina Beg. These Sikhs were tortured and executed at the place now known as Shahidganj in Lahore on the occasion of Eid.

Punjabi historian Ganesh Das makes note of the site of being where many Sikhs were executed:

See also

References

External links