CHANDIGARH: After a 79-year hiatus, the historic gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib, located on the Temple Road in Lahore, Pakistan, reopened on Sunday, which had remained closed since partition following the completion of restoration work.
A ceremony marking the reopening of Gurdwara followed Sikh religious traditions and was attended by members of the Sikh community.
Minorities Minister of Pakistan's Punjab province and Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Ramesh Arora, Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Secretary Nasir Mushtaq and other officials also attended the reopening ceremony on Sunday.
Arora that the restoration of the historic shrine was complete, and it was now open for religious worship by the Sikh community. He added that more than 50 gurdwaras across Pakistan were undergoing renovation as part of efforts to preserve Sikh religious heritage and facilitate pilgrims.
While Mushtaq said that the restoration and reopening of the gurdwara aimed to provide better worship facilities to the Sikh community while preserving Lahore's historical and religious heritage for future generations.
Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), the sixth Sikh Guru, is revered as a warrior-saint who transformed the Sikh community to defend against religious oppression.
The gurdwara is also associated with Bhai Bidhi Chand, a Sikh religious preacher and military commander, who stayed there during his two visits to Lahore to retrieve the horses seized by the then Mughal governor. Devotees had brought the horses as offerings to Guru Hargobind Sahib.
The local Sikh congregation expanded the gurdwara's hall in 1915. In 1921, the Sangat took over its management and formed a committee following allegations of misconduct against its caretaker, Mahant Hari Singh.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) assumed administrative control of the shrine in 1927. The original building is believed to date back to the period of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
It is learnt that regular worship at the gurdwara stopped following Partition in 1947. Sikh historical accounts also record that several members of the community were killed while defending the shrine during the violence surrounding Partition.
According to historical accounts, Guru Hargobind Sahib accepted an invitation from Lahore's local Sikh congregation, and stayed for three days at the residence of his devotee Bhai Jiwan. The house was subsequently converted into a gurdwara.
The shrine is also linked to Bhai Bidhi Chand, a Sikh preacher and military commander who visited Lahore on two occasions to retrieve horses seized by the Mughal governor. The animals, Dilbagh and Gulbagh, had been intended as offerings to Guru Hargobind Sahib.