Janamasthan Maharaja Ranjit Singh
The birth place of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji is in the Sabzi Mandi (Vegetable Market) of Gujranwala. It is a very beautiful house. There is an open courtyard inside the main door. It is divided in two parts. In the hind portion the room on your right is the room whichewas the birth place of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He was born in Samvat 1837 (2nd Nov 1780 AD). His father’s name was Sardar Mahan Singh and Bibi Raj Kaur was his mother. It is the house where he had spent his early childhood. It is here that he had smallpox due to which he lost one eye .
There is a goldsmith’s shop in the foyer of the house. Archeology Department (the department responsible for maintaining old sites) is not looking after the house at all. The roofs have collapsed and the walls have developed cracks. The shop of the goldsmith is air-conditioned. This page of history will definitely be wiped out some day if the present state of affairs is allowed to continue.
 |
Text and photographs:Historical Sikh Shrines in Pakistan : Iqbal Qaiser |