onlycheema
Banned
Spw thanx man..........so nice pic tht is............pata lagdaa saanu niyaaniyaa nun ki hunda c pehle jamane ch.........
Golden Temple-Some unseen Pics
- Thread starter sohni Pagg Wala
- Start date
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onlycheema
Banned
bulla likda essay poora poora.............eh kitey pehlaan takkr jaanda evein english ton darrde reh gaye yaar......mein taa ehnu padd k hunn 500 page likh dayun kisey topic te....
<TABLE width="89%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="98%" height=54><TABLE width="87%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="77%">Sri harmindar Sahib (pg.1)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="64%">
</TD><TD vAlign=top width="36%">[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]The Harmindar Sahib ( Har or Hari meaning God and Mandir meaning house of) is a sight of true enchanting
beauty. The glistening Harmindar stands in the midst of a square tank of holy water or amrit.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Each side is about 150 meters long, with avery wide parkarma or circumambu - lation all the way round. There are four doorways into the complex letting the whole world know that this is a place open to all from the four corners of the world.A 60 meter causeway connects the parkarma to the Harmindar Sahib itself. The causeway was a row of guilded lamps and a perforated marble railing on either side.[/FONT]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD>
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Before stepping onto the causeway one passes under a fine arch called Darshani Deori from where one can have a full view of the Harmindar Sahib. The door frame of the arch is 3 meters high, the Harmindar Sahib itself is 12 meters square and rests on a 20 meter square platform. The building is two storied and on top is a guilded dome surrounded by golden turrets. Guru Granth Sahib Ji the holy scriptures of the Sikhs is housed on the ground floor under a beautiful bejeweled canopy. Many of the doors, domes and walls are covered in gold from the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, hence the Harmindar Sahib is also known as the Golden Temple. Among Sikhs it is popularly known as Darbar Sahib (the divine court).Costly marble has been used for the construction of the [/FONT][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]parkarma and causeway. [/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top height=236><TABLE height=359 width="54%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="54%">
</TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Drawing from 1900's [/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]The foundation stone was laid in 1589 by a Muslim saint called Hazrat Mian Mir Ji on the invitation of the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji, and its construction was completed in 1601 and the Aadh Guru Granth Sahib Ji was installed in 1604.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]In the Golden Temple singing of Gurbani (Gurus hymns) with musical instruments continues uninterrupted from early hours in the morning until late as continuous devotees stream in through the four outer doors. [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Attached to the complex is a Sikh museum and the Guru Ram Das langar hall (free kitchen). Facing the Harmindar Sahib the seat of Sikh spiritual authority is the Akal Takhat, the Throne of the Eternal, the seat of Sikh temporal authority.[/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]It is written that the Pandovs (five brothers) from the epic tale Mahabharat visited the site where Harmandar Sahib now stands. In the thick jungle they were dying of thirst and could walk no more. One by one each brother was sent to find water but none returned. The only one left standing wasYudhisthira the wisest of them all. When he went in search of his brothers he found them all laying unconscious in a clearing next to a pool of clear water. When he approached a voice called out. It said that each of his brothers had failed to solve a riddle but had drank from the pool anyway, hence their fate. Yudhisthira [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]being the wise one gave a satisfactory answer to the riddle. The voice was so impressed it said that not only could he drink from the pool but he could also revive one of his brothers. This was a predicament for Yudhisthira , who to revive ? Although they had the same father, three were born of one mother and two of another, but who should he revive. He tapped one on the shoulder who began to come round. The voice asked how he had made his choice. Yudhisthira said " If after our travels we manage to get home and I have revived one of my true brothers then one mother will have joy in her heart that two of her sons have returned but the other will fall into despair as she will have none to hug. I have chosen so that both mothers will have one son to comfort them." The voice was impressed by this wisdom that it revived the other three also. [/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE width="98%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="54%">[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]
[/FONT]</TD><TD width="54%">[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]
[/FONT]</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif] [/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]It is written in old text that The Buddha stayed for some time at the site where Harmindar Sahib now stands, and proclaimed that to attain Nirvana this land was the most spiritually charged. But due to the decline of Buddhism in India the Buddhist influence from this area also waned and it became non - populated again and reverted to a jungle.[/FONT]
<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="3%"> </TD><TD width="43%">
</TD><TD width="54%">[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Rajni was a daughter of a very proud and egotistical King, she was good of heart and always cheerful. Once having displeased her father he ordered that she be married off to a leper. This dully happened and she was cast into the wilderness with her helpless husband. They had heard of a miraculous place where black crows bathe in a pool of water and emerge as white doves. After many years searching they came to a clearing in the jungle and saw the sight of black birds turning to white doves. The husband rolled down the slope into the water and was cured of his illness. This place was at the site where the Harmindar Sahib now stands. [/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Akali Tower[/FONT]</TD><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE width="87%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="18%"> </TD><TD width="82%">
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Guru Nanak Dev Ji[/FONT][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif] arrived here for the first time in 1502 with Bhai Mardana and declared it a very pious and sacred place. On hearing this a local landlord Bhai Tara went home and and brought some sweet pudding - Parsad. Guru Ji's close companion Bhai Mardana ate some and said this was like holy or Amrit food. Guru Ji blessed the site and said that holy food will always be served here.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Guru Ji visited it again in 1532 in the company of Bhai Lenhna Ji and Baba Buddha Ji. The tank of water was made larger by the fourth Guru, Guru Ram Das Ji who bought the land from emperor Akbar for 700 gold coins and named the place Amritsar.[/FONT][/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD height=299><TABLE width="49%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="54%">
</TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Drawing from 1800's [/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]When the Harmindar Sahib was completed in 1601, Guru Arjan Dev Ji the fifth Guru had already started the compilation of the Aadh Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Sikh holy scriptures. After including the hymns of the previous four Gurus and those himself and Muslim and Hindu saints and bards the Granth Sahib was completed in 1604 (see separate page on Guru Granth Sahib Ji). Guru Granth Sahib Ji was brought with great reverance and installed in the Harmindar Sahib. [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]To enhance the beauty of the Harmindar Sahib, Maharaja Rajit Singh arranged for gold leaf to be added to the top half and decorated enameled marble to the bottom half of the building. in all the Maharaja took 27 years to complete this and added 162 seer (1 seer = approx 1 Kg) of pure gold valued at 66 Lakh Rupees.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Two important Sikh principles are put into practice here in abundance. Sewa (selfless service) by many devotees who will wash and clean the parkarma as well as run the Langar or free kitchen where upto 25
thousand pilgrims from all walks of life come and eat together each day. Simran (meditation), as Gurbani (Gurus hymns) are sung uninterrupted all day every day. [/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE width="98%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=middle width="55%">[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]There are many places of historical value within the complex of the Harmindar Sahib. Opposite the Harmindar Sahib is the Akal Takhat a most respected building as it has a historical connection with the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. For Guru Ji used to sit on a plat - form and hold court and issue edicts or hukamnamas from here. If Harmindar is the place of worship then the Akal Takhat is the place of strength. In 1984 this was the building that was one of the main target of the tanks that had rolled into the complex, and attempts were wand to completely destroy the throne of the Almighty.[/FONT][/FONT]
<TABLE width="69%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=242>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><TD vAlign=top align=left width="45%">
</TD></TR><TR><TD height=21>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Marbled parkarma around the sacred pool[/FONT]</TD><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Sri Akal Takhat Sahib[/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Very close to the Akal Takhat is a place called Thara Sahib (a platform made of bricks). This is where the ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib Ji rested when arriving from Baba Bakala to pay his respects to Darbar Sahib soon after he was announced as the next Guru. The custodians of the Harmindar Sahib closed the doors on the Guru to safeguard their vested interests. [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]In the precinct there is Ber Baba Buddha. This is a tree (beri) that Baba Buddha Ji used to sit under whilst supervising the construction of the Darbar Sahib. A little further from this is the Dukh Bhanjani Beri, the story of which we shall recount below. A little further there is a high platform called At Sath Tirath, where the Gurus and great saints used to deliver their holy discourses in the praise of the Almighty.[/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="31%">
</TD><TD vAlign=top width="69%">[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]On the next part of the parkarma is the famous place of Baba Deep Singh Ji.This is the final resting place of the severed head of Baba Deep Singh Ji. In 1757 Prince Taimurs afghan forces met a band of a few thousand Sikhs led by Baba Deep Singh. The destruction of the Harmindar Sahib be Ahmad Shah Abdali forces caused a lot of heartburning amongst the Sikhs and this clash was inevitable. The opposing forces met ten miles outside Amritsar at a village called Goharwal. The Sikh peasantry were less trained and heavily out- numbered by the imperial forces, the battle was bloody and fierce. Baba Deep Singh Ji was well into his old age by this time but such was his strength and conviction that he had vowed that if he was to die in battle he would find his final resting place in the precincts of the Harmindar Sahib. As the battle waged Baba Ji was struck by a sword which completely severed his head. Such was the shakti (spiritual power) of Baba Ji that he picked up his head and carried on fighting, eventually nearing the Harmindar Sahib Baba Ji threw this head into the parkarma and breathed his last. Baba Deep Singh Ji is one of the most revered heroes in Sikh history. [/FONT][/FONT]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=center width="37%">[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]A little after Baba Deep Singh Ji is the Parvesh Devaar, one of the main entrance gates. On the top floor is the Sikh Reference Library. There are preserved over 100 hand written copies of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji and over 800 hand written hukamnamas and manuscripts relating to Sikh history.[/FONT][/FONT]
</TD><TD align=right width="63%">
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]On the next turn of the parkarma is the Ilaichi Beri (a tree with very small fruit called Ber). At this place Guru Arjan Dev Ji used to sit and supervise the construction of the Harmindar Sahib. This is the same place that Sikh heros Bhai Sukha Singh and Bhai Mehtaab Singh tied their horses before dealing with Massa Ranghar. Massa was a governor of the Mughal empire and he had been instructed to squeeze the life out of the Sikhs. He decided that the best way to deal with these troublesome folk was to attack their holy of holies. He setup camp and started to desecrate the site by pouring all manner of filth into the holy waters, including severed heads of cows. He sat in the Harmindar Sahib drinking alcohol, eating meat and watching dancing girls dance. It came down to two Sikhs from the jungles of Bika Nair who rode with fire in their hearts to stop this. In the year 1797, after a three day journey they reached Amritsar. Disguised as farmers coming to pay their taxes they filled sacks of pebbles and bluffed there way into the Harminder Sahib past the scores of imperial guards. They tied their horses at Ilaichi Beri and walked to the Darbar Sahib. They threw the sacks in front of Massa Ranghar who could not contain himself and lent forward to pick up the money. With one clean swipe his body was relieved of its head, they picked up the head and fought there way out of the complex and were gone. The sheet audacity of this act left the imperial forces stunned.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]There is a wonderful Sikh museum situated on top of Darshani Deori which houses very valuable articles of historical importance for the Sikhs. [/FONT]
<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="44%">
</TD><TD width="14%"> </TD><TD width="42%">
</TD></TR><TR><TD>Sri Akal Takhat Sahib 1858.</TD><TD> </TD><TD>Darbar Sahib 1858</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
continued...
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beauty. The glistening Harmindar stands in the midst of a square tank of holy water or amrit.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Each side is about 150 meters long, with avery wide parkarma or circumambu - lation all the way round. There are four doorways into the complex letting the whole world know that this is a place open to all from the four corners of the world.A 60 meter causeway connects the parkarma to the Harmindar Sahib itself. The causeway was a row of guilded lamps and a perforated marble railing on either side.[/FONT]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD>
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Before stepping onto the causeway one passes under a fine arch called Darshani Deori from where one can have a full view of the Harmindar Sahib. The door frame of the arch is 3 meters high, the Harmindar Sahib itself is 12 meters square and rests on a 20 meter square platform. The building is two storied and on top is a guilded dome surrounded by golden turrets. Guru Granth Sahib Ji the holy scriptures of the Sikhs is housed on the ground floor under a beautiful bejeweled canopy. Many of the doors, domes and walls are covered in gold from the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, hence the Harmindar Sahib is also known as the Golden Temple. Among Sikhs it is popularly known as Darbar Sahib (the divine court).Costly marble has been used for the construction of the [/FONT][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]parkarma and causeway. [/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top height=236><TABLE height=359 width="54%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="54%">
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]In the Golden Temple singing of Gurbani (Gurus hymns) with musical instruments continues uninterrupted from early hours in the morning until late as continuous devotees stream in through the four outer doors. [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Attached to the complex is a Sikh museum and the Guru Ram Das langar hall (free kitchen). Facing the Harmindar Sahib the seat of Sikh spiritual authority is the Akal Takhat, the Throne of the Eternal, the seat of Sikh temporal authority.[/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]It is written that the Pandovs (five brothers) from the epic tale Mahabharat visited the site where Harmandar Sahib now stands. In the thick jungle they were dying of thirst and could walk no more. One by one each brother was sent to find water but none returned. The only one left standing wasYudhisthira the wisest of them all. When he went in search of his brothers he found them all laying unconscious in a clearing next to a pool of clear water. When he approached a voice called out. It said that each of his brothers had failed to solve a riddle but had drank from the pool anyway, hence their fate. Yudhisthira [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]being the wise one gave a satisfactory answer to the riddle. The voice was so impressed it said that not only could he drink from the pool but he could also revive one of his brothers. This was a predicament for Yudhisthira , who to revive ? Although they had the same father, three were born of one mother and two of another, but who should he revive. He tapped one on the shoulder who began to come round. The voice asked how he had made his choice. Yudhisthira said " If after our travels we manage to get home and I have revived one of my true brothers then one mother will have joy in her heart that two of her sons have returned but the other will fall into despair as she will have none to hug. I have chosen so that both mothers will have one son to comfort them." The voice was impressed by this wisdom that it revived the other three also. [/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE width="98%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="54%">[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]
<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="3%"> </TD><TD width="43%">
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Akali Tower[/FONT]</TD><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE width="87%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="18%"> </TD><TD width="82%">
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Guru Ji visited it again in 1532 in the company of Bhai Lenhna Ji and Baba Buddha Ji. The tank of water was made larger by the fourth Guru, Guru Ram Das Ji who bought the land from emperor Akbar for 700 gold coins and named the place Amritsar.[/FONT][/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD height=299><TABLE width="49%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="54%">
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]To enhance the beauty of the Harmindar Sahib, Maharaja Rajit Singh arranged for gold leaf to be added to the top half and decorated enameled marble to the bottom half of the building. in all the Maharaja took 27 years to complete this and added 162 seer (1 seer = approx 1 Kg) of pure gold valued at 66 Lakh Rupees.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Two important Sikh principles are put into practice here in abundance. Sewa (selfless service) by many devotees who will wash and clean the parkarma as well as run the Langar or free kitchen where upto 25
thousand pilgrims from all walks of life come and eat together each day. Simran (meditation), as Gurbani (Gurus hymns) are sung uninterrupted all day every day. [/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE width="98%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=middle width="55%">[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]There are many places of historical value within the complex of the Harmindar Sahib. Opposite the Harmindar Sahib is the Akal Takhat a most respected building as it has a historical connection with the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. For Guru Ji used to sit on a plat - form and hold court and issue edicts or hukamnamas from here. If Harmindar is the place of worship then the Akal Takhat is the place of strength. In 1984 this was the building that was one of the main target of the tanks that had rolled into the complex, and attempts were wand to completely destroy the throne of the Almighty.[/FONT][/FONT]
<TABLE width="69%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=242>
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]In the precinct there is Ber Baba Buddha. This is a tree (beri) that Baba Buddha Ji used to sit under whilst supervising the construction of the Darbar Sahib. A little further from this is the Dukh Bhanjani Beri, the story of which we shall recount below. A little further there is a high platform called At Sath Tirath, where the Gurus and great saints used to deliver their holy discourses in the praise of the Almighty.[/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="31%">
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=center width="37%">[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]A little after Baba Deep Singh Ji is the Parvesh Devaar, one of the main entrance gates. On the top floor is the Sikh Reference Library. There are preserved over 100 hand written copies of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji and over 800 hand written hukamnamas and manuscripts relating to Sikh history.[/FONT][/FONT]
</TD><TD align=right width="63%">
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]There is a wonderful Sikh museum situated on top of Darshani Deori which houses very valuable articles of historical importance for the Sikhs. [/FONT]
<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="44%">
continued...
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<TABLE width="90%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="72%">(pg.2)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE width="90%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="1%"> </TD><TD width="99%"> </TD></TR><TR><TD height=930> </TD><TD vAlign=top align=left><TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=255>
</TD><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Darshani Deori , 1884. Looking towards the causeway.[/FONT][/FONT]</TD><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Darshani Deori , 1858. Looking from the causeway.[/FONT][/FONT]</TD></TR><TR><TD width="63%" height=309>
</TD><TD width="37%">
</TD></TR><TR><TD>View of the complex taken in 1884</TD><TD>View of the sarovar taken in 1884</TD></TR><TR><TD height=235>
</TD><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD height=18>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Dukh Bhanjani Beri in 1884[/FONT][/FONT]</TD><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Amritsar street, 1884[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD><TD>
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]The drawing by W Carpenter appeared in the ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS of November 1858 showing the interior of the Harmindar Sahib [/FONT].[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]William Carpenter was a skilled artist who toured Indian in the late 1850s and captured many famous monuments of the Punjab including the Golden Temple and Baba Atal in Amritsar, and various scenes of Lahore. These were all published as engravings in the Illustrated London[/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD><TD><TABLE width="99%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="52%">
</TD><TD width="48%">
</TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and Granthi.[/FONT]</TD><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Kirtan in Darbar Sahib. Note the absence of the harmonium and the rabab like string instrument [/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>
</TD></TR><TR><TD height=38>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]The Darbar Sahib with sangat.[/FONT]</TD><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Mother and children paying their respects to Guru Granth Sahib Ji.[/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD height=36> </TD><TD align=middle><TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD><TD align=middle>
</TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Ladies buying flowers from the precinct[/FONT]</TD><TD align=middle>[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Children learning scriptures in the precinct[/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Thanks
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[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]The drawing by W Carpenter appeared in the ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS of November 1858 showing the interior of the Harmindar Sahib [/FONT].[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]William Carpenter was a skilled artist who toured Indian in the late 1850s and captured many famous monuments of the Punjab including the Golden Temple and Baba Atal in Amritsar, and various scenes of Lahore. These were all published as engravings in the Illustrated London[/FONT]
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD><TD><TABLE width="99%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="52%">
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD>
Thanks
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gurinder_gidda
Sohni Muteyar
matlab e ke sare hamesha e kende ke tusi anti jehiya gallan karde ho par e sab pics dekh ke e lagda hai ke tusi bahut religious ho. bus es lai keha.
by-the-way thanx for all these beautiful pics
jattpunjabi
Member
Sri Harmandir Sahib, also know as the Golden Temple in Amritsar is the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion. Also known as the Shri Darbar Shaib, it is in the center of the old part of Amritsar. The Golden Temple sits on a rectangular platform, surrounded by a pool of water called the Amrit Sarovar from which the City is named
Who will build the holy city? Guru Amar Das did not build Amritsar himself. This was left to his son-in-law, the fourth Guru, Ram Das. It is said that Guru Amar Das tested Ram Das and another son-in-law to see which one of them would be the most worthy Guru to follow after him. The Guru challenged each man to build a raised platform, to see which was the best. After the platforms had been completed, the Guru then told his sons-in-law that the platforms were not good enough. He ordered the two men to pull them down. The other son-in-law became very angry and refused to do as he was asked, but Ram Das knocked down his own platform without protest. Ram Das was tested even further. He had to rebuild the platform seven times before the Guru was satisfied
Ram Das makes the pools From building seven platforms, Ram Das went on to build the holy city of Amritsar. He developed the site with the help of a group of elderly and well respected Sikhs. First, the Guru had a new pool excavated. This pool was called Santokhsar, after a Sikh follower called Santokha of Peshawar. Santokh means 'contentment'. But before the pool was even finished and paved, the Guru asked Ram Das to build another pool on low-lying ground to the east of the first one. This was to be the Amritsar, the pool of nectar that gives immortality.
Stories of these waters are told not only in Sikh tradition but also in the traditions of other Indian religions. The story of Bibi Rajni lends quite an importance to this pool. Briefly it is said that her husband who was a leper fell into the pool and was cured of all illnesses. It is also said that Lord Rama, and his sons fought at the holy site of Amritsar. Rama was killed and then miraculously healed when he was given the amrit (nectar) to drink. Some people say that the Lord Buddha, founder of the Buddhist religion, also visited the pool. But Sikhs believe that Guru Amar Das cured the second Guru, Angad, of a skin disease by using a herb that grew near the pond. The site of Amritsar was certainly very special to people of many different faiths
A jujube tree called Dukhbhanjani Ber marked the spot where the pool was to be made. It is still there today. Labourers were hired to dig the pool but many Sikh followers helped out. As the pool progressed, traders and businessmen were drawn to the settlement to serve the workmen's needs. Wells were dug, homes were built and markets were set up. A small town was beginning to grow.
Who will build the holy city? Guru Amar Das did not build Amritsar himself. This was left to his son-in-law, the fourth Guru, Ram Das. It is said that Guru Amar Das tested Ram Das and another son-in-law to see which one of them would be the most worthy Guru to follow after him. The Guru challenged each man to build a raised platform, to see which was the best. After the platforms had been completed, the Guru then told his sons-in-law that the platforms were not good enough. He ordered the two men to pull them down. The other son-in-law became very angry and refused to do as he was asked, but Ram Das knocked down his own platform without protest. Ram Das was tested even further. He had to rebuild the platform seven times before the Guru was satisfied
Ram Das makes the pools From building seven platforms, Ram Das went on to build the holy city of Amritsar. He developed the site with the help of a group of elderly and well respected Sikhs. First, the Guru had a new pool excavated. This pool was called Santokhsar, after a Sikh follower called Santokha of Peshawar. Santokh means 'contentment'. But before the pool was even finished and paved, the Guru asked Ram Das to build another pool on low-lying ground to the east of the first one. This was to be the Amritsar, the pool of nectar that gives immortality.
Stories of these waters are told not only in Sikh tradition but also in the traditions of other Indian religions. The story of Bibi Rajni lends quite an importance to this pool. Briefly it is said that her husband who was a leper fell into the pool and was cured of all illnesses. It is also said that Lord Rama, and his sons fought at the holy site of Amritsar. Rama was killed and then miraculously healed when he was given the amrit (nectar) to drink. Some people say that the Lord Buddha, founder of the Buddhist religion, also visited the pool. But Sikhs believe that Guru Amar Das cured the second Guru, Angad, of a skin disease by using a herb that grew near the pond. The site of Amritsar was certainly very special to people of many different faiths
A jujube tree called Dukhbhanjani Ber marked the spot where the pool was to be made. It is still there today. Labourers were hired to dig the pool but many Sikh followers helped out. As the pool progressed, traders and businessmen were drawn to the settlement to serve the workmen's needs. Wells were dug, homes were built and markets were set up. A small town was beginning to grow.
jattpunjabi
Member
After the invasion of Nadir Shah, and acting on the advice of the Governor of Lahore, Nawab Zakaria Khan decided to totally wipe out the Sikh People once and for all. To achieve this objective, he issued instructions to his officials and village heads to kill or arrest any living Sikhs, wherever and whenever they are found. He also announced cash rewards of ten rupees for informers, fifty rupees for killers and eighty rupees for those who arrest and detain Sikhs.
Massa Rangar, the village head of Mandially exceeded all limits and behaved in a most hated, mischievous and offensive manner, hurting religious sentiments of Sikhs, after he was made incharge of Sri Harmandar Sahib, in Amritsar. The Gurdwara premises were captured earlier by the Mughal Government forces.
He used the parkarma (the area surrounding the Sarowar - the pool tank) as a stable for his horses and used the main Darbar Sahib as Dancing Room, where prostitutes entertained Massa Rangar and his guests. He would seat himself on a beautiful canopy (Palang), smoke hukka (tobacco) and watch the prostitutes in the place which was built as the centre of the Sikhs where the praises of Waheguru (god) should have been vibrating day and night. Around the building and premises he had posted armed guards to prevent the entry of anyone and everyone without permission.
Due to persecution in Panjab, the Sikhs had moved to the jungles, woods and deserts. One such group (Jatha) of Sikhs was temporarily camping near Jaipur City in Rajastan. A Sikh named Bhai Balaaka Singh Ji witnessed the beadbi (violation of sanctity) of the Guru’s property and Sikh Centre, he travelled to Bikanner to the camp near Jaipur City to tell the Sikh Sangat the sad news. The heart wrenching account of the misdeeds of Massa Rangar sent shock waves through the hearts of all the Sikhs present there. Just as nowadays we are disheartened and shocked when we hear of Gurdwara Management Committees drinking sharaab, organising parties, dancing to lurid music and people smoking tobacco on Gurdwara premises in modern day Gurdwaré.
One brave Sikh among them, Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji, immediately jumped to his feet and volunteered himself to punish the culprit Massa Rangar. He announced that he would cut the head off of the wretched Massa in Amritsar and bring it back to Bikanner to show all the Sikhs present there, and remind the world that no-one should dare ever to desecrate or misuse the premises, property, land or building of the Sikh Sangat and Guru Sahib for their perverted non-Gurmat ways.
Another Sikh named Bhai Sukha Singh Ji volunteered to accompany Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji, to help him accomplish the sacred task. Both were granted permission by the Jatha chief and special Ardaas (prayer) was held for the success of their mission to upkeep the honour and dignity of the Sikh Gurdwara and of Guru’s Khalsa.
Both Bhai Sukha Singh Ji and Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji immediately got on their horses and proceeded towards Amritsar and arrived there in the month of August, 1740. They put on the dress and guise of village chief tax-collectors and carried with them a bag, which was full of broken pieces of pottery, which from the outside of the bag appeared to be a bag full of coins.
The brave Sikhs of the Guru headed for Harmandar Sahib. On arriving there, they told the guards who checked their entry into the premises that they were village heads and had come to deposit land revenue with Massa Rangar. So they managed to befool the guards and gained entry to Harmandar Sahib. They tied their horses to a tree near the entrance of the Harmandar Sahib now known as ‘Lachi Ber’ and proceeded further.
They found Massa Rangar sitting on his cot fully intoxicated, smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, and watching dancing prostitutes. The scene enraged them. However, sadly this is a common site in the 21st century, with Gurdwara managed community halls and premises holding functions and parties, with men getting drunk and our sisters and mothers dancing on the dance floor.
Bhai Sukha Singh Ji remained near the door of Darbar Sahib, while Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji went inside. He threw the bag infront of Massa who was settling in on his seat and said, "Here is land revenue." Massa Rangar happily bent down to pick up the bag supposed to be full of coins. Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji drew out his Sri Sahib (Kirpan) swiftly and with its single blow, cut off the head of Massa Rangar. Those present inside were stunned by the sudden development and ran for help. In the meantime the two brave Sikhs took away the severed head of Massa Rangar, rode their horses and vanished from the scene before the guards could recover and realise what had happened inside Harmandar Sahib. They went straight towards Jaipur to Bikanner, and showed Massa’s severed head to their Jathedar (elected leader) and to the rest of the Sikh Sangat present there just as they had promised.
By Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji’s and Bhai Sukha Singh Ji’s action, they proved that Sikhs do not tolerate desecration of their holy places, the Guru’s property or misuse of the Guru Ghar’s premises, and hold the sanctity of their holy places and institutions dearer than their lives.
Massa Rangar, the village head of Mandially exceeded all limits and behaved in a most hated, mischievous and offensive manner, hurting religious sentiments of Sikhs, after he was made incharge of Sri Harmandar Sahib, in Amritsar. The Gurdwara premises were captured earlier by the Mughal Government forces.
He used the parkarma (the area surrounding the Sarowar - the pool tank) as a stable for his horses and used the main Darbar Sahib as Dancing Room, where prostitutes entertained Massa Rangar and his guests. He would seat himself on a beautiful canopy (Palang), smoke hukka (tobacco) and watch the prostitutes in the place which was built as the centre of the Sikhs where the praises of Waheguru (god) should have been vibrating day and night. Around the building and premises he had posted armed guards to prevent the entry of anyone and everyone without permission.
Due to persecution in Panjab, the Sikhs had moved to the jungles, woods and deserts. One such group (Jatha) of Sikhs was temporarily camping near Jaipur City in Rajastan. A Sikh named Bhai Balaaka Singh Ji witnessed the beadbi (violation of sanctity) of the Guru’s property and Sikh Centre, he travelled to Bikanner to the camp near Jaipur City to tell the Sikh Sangat the sad news. The heart wrenching account of the misdeeds of Massa Rangar sent shock waves through the hearts of all the Sikhs present there. Just as nowadays we are disheartened and shocked when we hear of Gurdwara Management Committees drinking sharaab, organising parties, dancing to lurid music and people smoking tobacco on Gurdwara premises in modern day Gurdwaré.
One brave Sikh among them, Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji, immediately jumped to his feet and volunteered himself to punish the culprit Massa Rangar. He announced that he would cut the head off of the wretched Massa in Amritsar and bring it back to Bikanner to show all the Sikhs present there, and remind the world that no-one should dare ever to desecrate or misuse the premises, property, land or building of the Sikh Sangat and Guru Sahib for their perverted non-Gurmat ways.
Another Sikh named Bhai Sukha Singh Ji volunteered to accompany Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji, to help him accomplish the sacred task. Both were granted permission by the Jatha chief and special Ardaas (prayer) was held for the success of their mission to upkeep the honour and dignity of the Sikh Gurdwara and of Guru’s Khalsa.
Both Bhai Sukha Singh Ji and Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji immediately got on their horses and proceeded towards Amritsar and arrived there in the month of August, 1740. They put on the dress and guise of village chief tax-collectors and carried with them a bag, which was full of broken pieces of pottery, which from the outside of the bag appeared to be a bag full of coins.
The brave Sikhs of the Guru headed for Harmandar Sahib. On arriving there, they told the guards who checked their entry into the premises that they were village heads and had come to deposit land revenue with Massa Rangar. So they managed to befool the guards and gained entry to Harmandar Sahib. They tied their horses to a tree near the entrance of the Harmandar Sahib now known as ‘Lachi Ber’ and proceeded further.
They found Massa Rangar sitting on his cot fully intoxicated, smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, and watching dancing prostitutes. The scene enraged them. However, sadly this is a common site in the 21st century, with Gurdwara managed community halls and premises holding functions and parties, with men getting drunk and our sisters and mothers dancing on the dance floor.
Bhai Sukha Singh Ji remained near the door of Darbar Sahib, while Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji went inside. He threw the bag infront of Massa who was settling in on his seat and said, "Here is land revenue." Massa Rangar happily bent down to pick up the bag supposed to be full of coins. Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji drew out his Sri Sahib (Kirpan) swiftly and with its single blow, cut off the head of Massa Rangar. Those present inside were stunned by the sudden development and ran for help. In the meantime the two brave Sikhs took away the severed head of Massa Rangar, rode their horses and vanished from the scene before the guards could recover and realise what had happened inside Harmandar Sahib. They went straight towards Jaipur to Bikanner, and showed Massa’s severed head to their Jathedar (elected leader) and to the rest of the Sikh Sangat present there just as they had promised.
By Bhai Mehtab Singh Ji’s and Bhai Sukha Singh Ji’s action, they proved that Sikhs do not tolerate desecration of their holy places, the Guru’s property or misuse of the Guru Ghar’s premises, and hold the sanctity of their holy places and institutions dearer than their lives.
jattpunjabi
Member
The Muslim rulers believed that it is the Golden temple, which is a source of inspiration for the Sikhs, and they always had an ill eye towards Golden Temple. In 1741 AD a chieftain of village Patti, started sessions of dances and drinks inside the Golden Temple. He was beheaded there itself by 2 Singhs who had come there from the forests of Rajasthan disguised as village heads.
Some ungrateful, high caste and power hungry Hindus were also against the Sikhs. In Oct 1745 an All Sikh Congregation "Sarbat Khalsa" was held at Akaal Takhat Sahib but Harbhagat Niranjinia of Jandiala was an informer and was hand in glove with the Nawab of Lahore. Another chieftain Lakhpat Rai started catching and killing Sikhs from villages under the orders of Governor of Lahore. In 1746 he killed about 20000 Sikhs (including women, children and the old) by encircling the forest of Kahnuwaan and putting it to fire. The Sikhs call it 'Chhota Ghalughara' (Small Holocaust). Same year Bhai Subeg Singh and Bhai Shahbaj Singh (father and Son) were executed. They were tied on big rotatable sprocket wheels. Ultimately Harbhagat Niranjinia and Lakhpat Rai were killed by the Sikhs in April 1748.
AHM
In 1753, Meer Manu, a chieftain of Patti, arrested Sikh women with milk fed children. Killed the children by throwing them up in air to be pierced by the tips of spears. The pieces of flesh were garlanded and put in the necks of their mothers. The cruel Meer Manu died the same year after a fall from his horse and having been dragged with a foot stuck in the foot rest (Rakab) of his horse.
In 1756 at the request of Mugal Maharani, Ahmad Shah Abdaali attacked India. After collecting his loots and tying thousands of young ladies from Mathura, Brindaban, Agra, Delhi and other cities was carrying them on carts to be sold at Kabul as slaves. To save the young women, the honour of India, the Sikhs under the command of Baba Deep Singh attacked Abdaali forces at night near the river Markanda in Haryana and succeeded in their mission. Passing throughout Punjab, Abdaali met with the same fate while crossing rivers. The honour of Indian women was saved by the Sikhs which Marhattas, Rajputs, Ruhelas could not.
In 1757 AD Abdali sent Temur Khan to destroy Golden Temple at the behest of Jahan Khan. The same year two Sikhs by name Dayal Singh and Lehna Singh killed Jahan Khan. In Oct. 1759 the leaders of Sikh Missals collectede at Akaal Bunga and decided to attack approaching Durani, son of Ahmad Shah Abdali at Lahore and forced him to run back for safety.
In 1760 AD, Ahmad Shah Abdali, again started destroying Golden Temple. Baba Deep Singh ji vowed to fight his forces and reach Golden Temple. He sacrificed himself along with thousands of Sikhs but freed Golden Temple.
The Rajputs and Marhattas who had lost miserably to the Mugals, never helped Sikhs and not ever sought their help. Their role was similar to that of the Pahari Rajas. Without any co-ordination with the Sikhs, in 1761 AD they engaged forces of Abdali at Panipat. Their ratio was in 10 to 1 with Abdali forces but lost with heavy losses just because of their astrologers had advised them to wait for the aspecious occasion to attack while during that period Abdali closed their supply of food and water. Thus they were never able to face Abdaali again. Abdaali was carrying thousands of Hindu women as slaves, the Sikh army not only attacked Abdali forces at the banks of rivers of Punjab at nights with gorilla technique and freed the women but also sent then safely to their homes.
In 1762 AD in the field of Kupprhairey, Abdali surrounded the families and children of Sikhs and killed about 30 thousand Sikhs. It is called big holocaust 'Vadda Ghalughara'. Even after such big losses, in 1763 AD when a Brahmin from Kasoor requested Sikhs that his newly wedded wife be saved from the clutches of the Nawaab of Kasoor. The Sikhs attacked the Nawaab and saved the lady.
In 1764 the Khalsa defeated the attack of Ruhela Muslims. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia reconstructed Golden Temple. In December 1764 Baba Gurbakhash Singh along with 30 Sikhs gave away their lives while protecting Golden Temple and Akaal Takhat Sahib.
In 1765 AD Ahmad Shah Abdaali offered Governorship to S. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Ahluwalia refused to accept. Again same year, Abdali started destroying Goldern temple with mortars and cannons. A flying brick hit at his nose. The bleeding nose could not be cured and that became the cause of his death.
Since 1747 AD to 1767 for 20 years, Abdaali had attacked India eight times. It were only the Sikhs in Punjab who gave him befitting replies, looted his loots and saved the honor of Indian women. He was wondering that when he attacks India, he does not find Sikhs anywhere, but when he goes back, they attack and loot him. Where do these Sikhs live? When his Indian friends told him that these Sikhs live in Jungles and sleep on horse backs he prophesized that days are not far when they will rule.
AHMAD SHAH ABDALI ATTACKED ON HARMANDIR SAHIB. KILLED INNOCENT MEN,WOMEN AND CHILDREN. HARMANDIR SAHIB WAS DEMOLISHED AND RECONSTRUCTED MANY TIMES BEFORE AND AFTER INDEPENDENCE OF INDIA.
Some ungrateful, high caste and power hungry Hindus were also against the Sikhs. In Oct 1745 an All Sikh Congregation "Sarbat Khalsa" was held at Akaal Takhat Sahib but Harbhagat Niranjinia of Jandiala was an informer and was hand in glove with the Nawab of Lahore. Another chieftain Lakhpat Rai started catching and killing Sikhs from villages under the orders of Governor of Lahore. In 1746 he killed about 20000 Sikhs (including women, children and the old) by encircling the forest of Kahnuwaan and putting it to fire. The Sikhs call it 'Chhota Ghalughara' (Small Holocaust). Same year Bhai Subeg Singh and Bhai Shahbaj Singh (father and Son) were executed. They were tied on big rotatable sprocket wheels. Ultimately Harbhagat Niranjinia and Lakhpat Rai were killed by the Sikhs in April 1748.
AHM
In 1753, Meer Manu, a chieftain of Patti, arrested Sikh women with milk fed children. Killed the children by throwing them up in air to be pierced by the tips of spears. The pieces of flesh were garlanded and put in the necks of their mothers. The cruel Meer Manu died the same year after a fall from his horse and having been dragged with a foot stuck in the foot rest (Rakab) of his horse.
In 1756 at the request of Mugal Maharani, Ahmad Shah Abdaali attacked India. After collecting his loots and tying thousands of young ladies from Mathura, Brindaban, Agra, Delhi and other cities was carrying them on carts to be sold at Kabul as slaves. To save the young women, the honour of India, the Sikhs under the command of Baba Deep Singh attacked Abdaali forces at night near the river Markanda in Haryana and succeeded in their mission. Passing throughout Punjab, Abdaali met with the same fate while crossing rivers. The honour of Indian women was saved by the Sikhs which Marhattas, Rajputs, Ruhelas could not.
In 1757 AD Abdali sent Temur Khan to destroy Golden Temple at the behest of Jahan Khan. The same year two Sikhs by name Dayal Singh and Lehna Singh killed Jahan Khan. In Oct. 1759 the leaders of Sikh Missals collectede at Akaal Bunga and decided to attack approaching Durani, son of Ahmad Shah Abdali at Lahore and forced him to run back for safety.
In 1760 AD, Ahmad Shah Abdali, again started destroying Golden Temple. Baba Deep Singh ji vowed to fight his forces and reach Golden Temple. He sacrificed himself along with thousands of Sikhs but freed Golden Temple.
The Rajputs and Marhattas who had lost miserably to the Mugals, never helped Sikhs and not ever sought their help. Their role was similar to that of the Pahari Rajas. Without any co-ordination with the Sikhs, in 1761 AD they engaged forces of Abdali at Panipat. Their ratio was in 10 to 1 with Abdali forces but lost with heavy losses just because of their astrologers had advised them to wait for the aspecious occasion to attack while during that period Abdali closed their supply of food and water. Thus they were never able to face Abdaali again. Abdaali was carrying thousands of Hindu women as slaves, the Sikh army not only attacked Abdali forces at the banks of rivers of Punjab at nights with gorilla technique and freed the women but also sent then safely to their homes.
In 1762 AD in the field of Kupprhairey, Abdali surrounded the families and children of Sikhs and killed about 30 thousand Sikhs. It is called big holocaust 'Vadda Ghalughara'. Even after such big losses, in 1763 AD when a Brahmin from Kasoor requested Sikhs that his newly wedded wife be saved from the clutches of the Nawaab of Kasoor. The Sikhs attacked the Nawaab and saved the lady.
In 1764 the Khalsa defeated the attack of Ruhela Muslims. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia reconstructed Golden Temple. In December 1764 Baba Gurbakhash Singh along with 30 Sikhs gave away their lives while protecting Golden Temple and Akaal Takhat Sahib.
In 1765 AD Ahmad Shah Abdaali offered Governorship to S. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Ahluwalia refused to accept. Again same year, Abdali started destroying Goldern temple with mortars and cannons. A flying brick hit at his nose. The bleeding nose could not be cured and that became the cause of his death.
Since 1747 AD to 1767 for 20 years, Abdaali had attacked India eight times. It were only the Sikhs in Punjab who gave him befitting replies, looted his loots and saved the honor of Indian women. He was wondering that when he attacks India, he does not find Sikhs anywhere, but when he goes back, they attack and loot him. Where do these Sikhs live? When his Indian friends told him that these Sikhs live in Jungles and sleep on horse backs he prophesized that days are not far when they will rule.
AHMAD SHAH ABDALI ATTACKED ON HARMANDIR SAHIB. KILLED INNOCENT MEN,WOMEN AND CHILDREN. HARMANDIR SAHIB WAS DEMOLISHED AND RECONSTRUCTED MANY TIMES BEFORE AND AFTER INDEPENDENCE OF INDIA.
jattpunjabi
Member
The Third Ghalughara: Operation Blue Star - A Retrospect
Attack on Golden Temple Amritsar
Ram Narayan Kumar*
* Eminent writer and analyst, author of The Sikh Struggleand The Sikh Unrest & The Indian State, Ajanta Books International, Delhi, Attack on Golden Temple Amritsar
Ram Narayan Kumar*
The assault against the Golden Temple, codenamed Operation Bluestar, was launched on June 3, 1984, the martyrdom day of Guru Arjun who, as we earlier observed, had got the foundation of the Temple laid by a Muslim divine four hundred years ago and was the first of the Sikh Gurus to die in defiance of the Mughal Empire. The assault, which the Sikhs themselves call the Ghallughara, had been diabolically conceived not only to scathe the Sikh psyche, but also to make the "sufficient moral effect from a military point of view on those who were present, but more especially throughout the Punjab." That is how Brigadier Dyer had explained his intention when the came to Jallianwala Bagh, near the Golden Temple, to disperse an illegal assembly sixty-five years ago on April 13, 19194. Dyer had acted impulsively on his own. The Operation Bluestar was not only envisioned and rehearsed in advance, meticulously and in total secrecy, it also aimed at obtaining maximum number of Sikh victims, largely devout pilgrims unconnected with the political agitation. The facts should speak for themselves.
On May 24 1984, the Akali Dal announced a new program to intensify the agitation from June 3, by blocking transport of Punjab’s food grains to other States, non-payment of all taxes due to the government and regular courting of arrest by Sikh volunteers.
On May 25, the government used the announcement to deploy 100,000 army troops throughout Punjab, also encircling 42 important Gurdwaras in the State, including the Golden Temple of Amritsar. Punjab should have been placed under a curfew if the government wanted to prevent innocent pilgrims from gathering at the Darbar Sahib in Amritsar and 42 other Gurdwaras throughout Punjab, which the army planned to attack, to celebrate Guru Arjun’s martyrdom day. A team of Union Ministers deputed by Indira Gandhi met the top Akali leaders secretly on May 26, two days after the announcement of their new program of agitation. The Akali leaders could at least have been asked to take steps to ward off the pilgrims in view of the impending military operation. This was not done. On May 30, President Zail Singh, the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces, and himself a Sikh, assured a delegation from Punjab that the army had no intention to assault the temple. The President himself was ignorant about the impending operation.
Until June 1 1984, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale held his regular public meetings on the roof of the community kitchen inside the Golden Temple complex. The meetings were open to all, and it should have been possible for a group of commandos to nab him there by using minimal force. This was not done. It should also have been easy for specially trained sharp-shooters, who had positioned themselves on the buildings around the temple, to target Bhindranwale and his armed followers, and to "neutralize" them. On June 1 afternoon, mixed groups of various security agencies that had occupied the multi-storied buildings in the circumference did open fire against the temple complex when Bhindranwale was holding his audience on the roof of the kitchen building. Instead of targeting Bhindranwale, the sharp shooters aimed at various buildings, including the main shrine of Harmandir Sahib which received 34 bullet marks. The objective of the barrage of firing, which lasted seven hours, was to assess the strength, the training and the preparedness of Bhindranwale’s resistance. According to Devinder Singh Duggal, in-charge of the Sikh Reference Library located inside the Golden Temple complex and an eye-witness, Bhindranwale’s followers were under strict instructions "not to fire a single shot unless and until the security forces or the army entered the holy Golden Temple." The action claimed the lives of eight pilgrims, including a woman and a child, inside the temple complex, and injured twenty-five others.
The government of India’s document, called the White Paper on Punjab, released on July 10 1984 does not acknowledge this incident. When the firing stopped, a group of Akali volunteers courted arrest. There was no curfew in Amritsar that night and the next day. Thousands of pilgrims came into the temple without restrictions. According to eye-witnesses, approximately 10,000 people had gathered inside. There were also 1300 Akali workers, including 200 women, who had come to join the program of agitation announced by the Akali Dal. Although they had come in without any hindrance, it was not possible for them to leave without risking arrest. On June 2nd afternoon, two Sikh student from Delhi wanted to take a train back to their city to appear for an examination on 1st June morning. At the Amritsar railway station, they found out that all outgoing trains had been cancelled. But there was not declaration of a curfew to steam the stream of pilgrims in the Golden Temple. Journalists were allowed to move in and out of the temple complex, and to interview Bhindranwale, until 3rd June evening when suddenly the curfew was imposed. Three journalists who came out of the temple complex, after speaking to Bhindranwale, on June 3rd evening told me that there were more than ten thousand Sikh devotees inside with no inkling of what was about to follow. One journalist counseled some village women, who nervously questioned him about the army deployment, to stary put until the curfew got lifted. The journalist himself had no clue on the scale and the nature of the army operation underway. A group of human rights workers from Delhi who later investigated the Ghallughara concluded that the failure to warn the people was not "forgetfulness" but "deliberate".
The top brass of the army was working on a Grand Plan, involving the use of heavy weapons, including battle tanks and helicopters obtained from the airforce. The civil administration had no chance to prepare for contingencies as it was kept completely in dark about the operational details. The Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar learnt about the army action officially on June 3rd evening when he attended a meeting with Major General K. S. Brar, Divisional Commander of the 9th Division, at a control room that had been set up in the city’s cantonment area. Asked by General Brar to give his opinion on Bhindranwale’s morale, the Deputy Commissioner tried to tell him that the militant Sikh preacher would not easily surrender. General Brar did not allow the Deputy Commissioner to finish his point, but began to exult on his redoubtable action plans: "....When tanks rattle, planes roar, and the ground fires, even Generals tremble in their trousers..." Earlier, the government had ignored the Deputy Commissioner’s recommendations to nab Bhindranwale through a swift police operation.
The army began the assault on June 4th morning with firing from heavy artillery and mortars against the temple complex, destroying the tops of two 18th century towers, the water tank behind a large public assembly room called Teja Singh Samundri Hall, and other buildings in the circumference. Hundreds of people were killed in the criss-cross of intense firing that was kept up throughout June 4. According to Bhan Singh, then General Secretary of the temple’s management committee (SGPC), no warning was given before the army started shelling the temple. The volunteers of the Red Cross who wanted to help the injured were detained at the Jallianwala Bagh.
Housed in the main shrine of the temple were fifty to sixty priests, singers and other attendants responsible for various liturgical tasks. Amrik Singh, the blind singer of religious hymns, and few other temple employees were killed when early June 5th morning they stepped out of the shrine to fetch water for the group inside. Later that evening, tanks belonging to the 16th Cavalry Regiment were moved into the plaza in front of the northern entrance to the Golden Temple after Bhindranwale’s fighters repulsed several attempts made by the commandos of the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment to capture the Akal Takht. Eventually, a group of the 7th Garhwal Rifles succeeded in establishing a position on the roof of the library building. Two companies of the 15th Kumaon Regiment later joined the 7th Garhwal Rifles to provide reinforcement. But the Akal Takht remained impenetrable. In the night of 6 June, an armored personal carrier that advanced towards the Akal Takht was destroyed by a suicide bomber in the south side of the circumference. Soon thereafter, eight Vijayanta tanks moved in to batter the Akal Takht with their large 105mm cannons equipped with high explosive squash-head shells. Eighty shells blasted against the most sacred of the Sikh shrines, erected by the sixth Sikh Guru as a counterpoint to the seat of political power in Delhi, reducing it to rubble. The golden dome of the shrine caved in by the firing from a hA singer at the Golden Temple, Harcharan Singh Ragi, his wife and their young daughter came out of their quarters near the Information Office in the afternoon of June 6th. They witnessed the killings of hundreds of people, including women, and would themselves have been shot if a Commander had not taken pity at their young daughter who fell at his feet to beseech her parents’ lives.
eavy Howell gun, mounted on an adjacent building. Photographic and forensic evidence, later published in the Surya magazine, suggested that Bindranwale and his chief military advisors, who had taken shelter within the Akal Takht, were captured and killed under torture.
The soldiers were in a foul mood. According to the official White Paper, 83 army personnel had been killed and 249 wounded during the Operation. Private estimates give much higher figures of army casualties.238 After the destruction of the Akal Takht, they drank and smoked openly inside the Temple complex and indiscriminately killed those who were found inside. For them, every Sikh inside was a terrorist. According to the official White Paper, 493 terrorists were killed, 86 wounded and 1,592 apprehended during the Operation. These numbers add up to 2171, and fail to explain what happened to at least five thousand pilgrims who were trapped inside when the Operation began. The eye-witnesses claim that "7 to 8 thousand people were killed". Mark Tully estimates that approximately 4000 people may have died. Chand Joshi suggests 5000 civilian deaths.239
In September 1984, Mrs. Kamala Devi Chattopadhyaya, a social worker based in Delhi, moved a petition before the Supreme Court to raise some issues about the people who had been detained as "most dangerous terrorists". The petition demanded the Court’s intervention for the release of twenty-two children aged between two and sixteen years, who had been rounded up from the Golden Temple and were being held at Ludhiana Jail. Two judges of the Supreme Court, Chinnappa Reddy and V. Khalid ruled that "there was no justification for detaining them as they were pilgrims visiting the Golden Temple during Operation Bluestar." At this order, the twenty-two children lodged at Ludhiana jail were released. But most of them were re-arrested and tortured at various interrogation centres for information on their relatives who had probably been killed during the army operation.245
There were more children, rounded up from the Golden Temple, in Punjab jails then Kamala Devi had been aware of. After her petition before the Supreme Court, many children lodged in the Ludhiana jail got transferred to the high security prison in Nabha. But a correspondent of the Indian Express found out that Jaswant Singh and Kewal Singh, lodged in the Nabha prison under the National Security Act, were eleven and fifteen years old, and published a story about them on October 24 1984. On 27 October 1984, a Sikh religious organization moved a Criminal Writ Petition No. 551 of 1984 before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana to demand their release. The petition said that the children were not involved in any criminal case and that the government had used the National Security Act to cover their detention many months after illegally arresting them on 3 June 1984. The petition prayed that the court should quash their detention as being mala fide and also order a thorough inquiry about the circumstances in which minor children unconnected with crime were being held in high security prisons.
Justice M. M. Punchi heard the petition and disposed it of with the following order: "The petition is extremely vague and tends to ask for a fishing inquiry. Dismissed". M. M. Punchi was later elevated to the Supreme Court as India’s Chief Justice.246
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jattpunjabi,
Agree 100%.
Our proto-historical records, the Pauranas, and the pre-Christian era Buddhist traditions definitely assert that, from ancient times, there has existed a natural and holy lake of water, (In Vaivasyatpaurana, a genre of ancient Sanskrit text reduced into literary form in about the first century of Christian era, but of much greater antiquity of contents there is mention of Amarkunda (synonym for Amritsaras, Punjabi Amritsar), a holy lake situated betwixt the rivers Vipasa (Modern Bias) and Airavati (Modem Ravi.
The Vedic and Buddhist traditions of holiness attached to this site and the lake suggest an earlier and more ancient origin of this attachment, extending back to the third and second millennia of the Indus Valley civilisation, on the basis of the historical trend that once a holy place, always so and that, a new holiness must be grounded in some older one. The creative imagination, therefore, is justified in discerning grounds for the belief, not altogether fanciful, that the holy lake and the site of the Golden Temple, was an ancient centre of theophanic human activity, at the dawn of human civilisation, round about 5,000 years ago, peopled by the Mohenjodaro race and further, that it was an equally well revered spot for the theomatic rishis of the vedes.
Here I wish to disagree.
In 1757, the Afghan conqueror, Ahmed Shah Abdali, invaded India for the fourth time, when he found, as before, that the Sikhs, of all peoples of India, resented his incursions into their country the most and made no secret of this resentment. Well understanding the theo-political status of the Golden Temple and its adjuncts, the redoubtable Abdali, had the temple demolished, its adjuncts destroyed and its lakes filled up and ploughed over.
The Sikhs however, refused to he cowed down.
And in April, 1758 when the combined forces of the Marathas and the Sikhs had succeeded in driving out of the country the Afghan occupation forces, the Golden Temple was rebuilt and its holy lake cleared up, through the labour of the enemy prisoners-of-war and under the direct supervision of the famous Maratha chiefs, Raghunath Rao and Malhar Rao Holkar, who then humbly made an offering of Rs. one hundred twenty-five thousand at the Golden Temple and received ceremonial robes of honour from its head priest. These Maratha chiefs well understood that the restoration of the true theo-political status of the Golden Temple was an integral part of their Grand National project of regaining liberty of the people and the freedom of India.
Thanks
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jattpunjabi,
Agree 100%.
Our proto-historical records, the Pauranas, and the pre-Christian era Buddhist traditions definitely assert that, from ancient times, there has existed a natural and holy lake of water, (In Vaivasyatpaurana, a genre of ancient Sanskrit text reduced into literary form in about the first century of Christian era, but of much greater antiquity of contents there is mention of Amarkunda (synonym for Amritsaras, Punjabi Amritsar), a holy lake situated betwixt the rivers Vipasa (Modern Bias) and Airavati (Modem Ravi.
The Vedic and Buddhist traditions of holiness attached to this site and the lake suggest an earlier and more ancient origin of this attachment, extending back to the third and second millennia of the Indus Valley civilisation, on the basis of the historical trend that once a holy place, always so and that, a new holiness must be grounded in some older one. The creative imagination, therefore, is justified in discerning grounds for the belief, not altogether fanciful, that the holy lake and the site of the Golden Temple, was an ancient centre of theophanic human activity, at the dawn of human civilisation, round about 5,000 years ago, peopled by the Mohenjodaro race and further, that it was an equally well revered spot for the theomatic rishis of the vedes.
Here I wish to disagree.
In 1757, the Afghan conqueror, Ahmed Shah Abdali, invaded India for the fourth time, when he found, as before, that the Sikhs, of all peoples of India, resented his incursions into their country the most and made no secret of this resentment. Well understanding the theo-political status of the Golden Temple and its adjuncts, the redoubtable Abdali, had the temple demolished, its adjuncts destroyed and its lakes filled up and ploughed over.
The Sikhs however, refused to he cowed down.
And in April, 1758 when the combined forces of the Marathas and the Sikhs had succeeded in driving out of the country the Afghan occupation forces, the Golden Temple was rebuilt and its holy lake cleared up, through the labour of the enemy prisoners-of-war and under the direct supervision of the famous Maratha chiefs, Raghunath Rao and Malhar Rao Holkar, who then humbly made an offering of Rs. one hundred twenty-five thousand at the Golden Temple and received ceremonial robes of honour from its head priest. These Maratha chiefs well understood that the restoration of the true theo-political status of the Golden Temple was an integral part of their Grand National project of regaining liberty of the people and the freedom of India.
Thanks
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gorakhnathdatilla
BIRHA TU SULTAN
rockaclimba
Member
Yes- very nice pics but what pains me is that descendants of Bhai Mardana were not allowed to recite Kirtan in Darbar Sahib.
TRIBUNE LINK
Sometimes, it seems to me that although we have become 'civilized' but we have lost balance of mind...and once again we are at same spot where we need BABA NANAK again.
I can imagine what would be society to whom NANAK gives examples that GOD is everywhere.
TRIBUNE LINK
Sometimes, it seems to me that although we have become 'civilized' but we have lost balance of mind...and once again we are at same spot where we need BABA NANAK again.
I can imagine what would be society to whom NANAK gives examples that GOD is everywhere.
jattpunjabi
Member
sorry rockclimba i couldnt find that tribune page.....there is sn error.......if its true its really sad......mardana always accompanied guruji then why they didnt allow?
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SGPC through a resolution in 1945 banned all ‘rababis’ to perform kirtan at Darbar Sahib
and imposed that only Amritdhari Sikhs could perform.
But don't blame the SGPC. They have their reason.
But what explains Pakistan recently demolishing Bhai Mardana’s ancient house that was
the only concrete memorial (of Bhai Mardana) at Nanakana Sahib?
Thanks
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SGPC through a resolution in 1945 banned all ‘rababis’ to perform kirtan at Darbar Sahib
and imposed that only Amritdhari Sikhs could perform.
But don't blame the SGPC. They have their reason.
But what explains Pakistan recently demolishing Bhai Mardana’s ancient house that was
the only concrete memorial (of Bhai Mardana) at Nanakana Sahib?
Thanks
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