Gurudwara Damdama Sahib – Sri Hargobindpur
In 1630,the Mughals had tried to confiscate by force, the site of a township called Sri Hargobindpur, established by Guru Arjun Dev in 1587. Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru, took objection to this action of the Mughal ruler. This brought him in conflict with the Mughal army. In this battle which was fought in 1630 A.D., it was misreported to Abdulla Khan, Subedar of Jalandhar, that Guru was constructing a fort at Sri Hargobindpur. He was also incited by Rattan Chand son of Gherer Chaudhry and Karam Chand son of Chandu Shah to attack the Guru. The muslim commander, his two sons and a large number of officers were killed and the remaining army took to flight. At the site of this historic battle, now stands a magnificent shrine called Gurdwara Damdama Sahib. This town. stands on the right bank of the river Beas in Gurdaspur district of Punjab. It was founded by Guru Hargobind and is now an important place of pilgrimage. It is connected by road with Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Batala town.
The site, where Guru Hargobind actually laid the foundation of new town, was situated in a tiny village Ruhela, on the right bank of the river Beas. He liked the place so much that he decided to build a town,on an open space available on the bank of the river. This brought him in conflict with Chaudhry Bhagwan Dass of Gherer tribe. The Chaudhry was killed in a squabble when he used undignified words for the Guru. The local population was thankful for riddance of the tyranny of the evil minded Chaudhry. They helped the Guru in the construction work of the town which came to be called after the Guru as Sri Hargobindpur.
A unique feature of the town, was the construction of a mosque, which was a conclusive evidence of the freedom from any narrow minded religious prejudice.