If you visit the area of Kot Khawaja Saeed in the east of China Scheme, you will come across the baradari of Sher Singh. Maharaja Sher Singh was the son of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the famous Sikh ruler of Punjab who was popularly known as ‘Sher-e-Punjab’. Sher Singh was born in 1807 in Gujranwala into a Sikh family of Sukerchakia misldars. Punjab was then ruled by the Sikhs under a confederate Sarbat Khalsa system and Afghans, who had divided the territory among factions known as misls. Sher Singh’s father Ranjeet Singh became the first maharaja of the Punjab. Sher Singh grew up to be a handsome, broad shouldered, young man fond of donning fashionable dress and lavish jewelry. His soldierly bearing made him popular with the army as well. Sher Singh loved hunting and hawking, and devoted attention to cultivating European interests and hobbies in the company of foreigners serving at the Sikh court. In 1820, Maharaja Ranjit Singh granted Sher Singh the privilege of being seated in the darbar and bestowed civil and military honors on him.
Sher Singh was the Sikh sovereign of Punjab from January 1841 until his assassination in September 1843
Sher Singh took part in many of the campaigns undertaken by the maharaja for the extension and growth of his kingdom. From 1831 to 1834 he was appointed the governor of Kashmir and in 1834, as the commander of the army that captured Peshawar from the Afghans. Later in the political vacuum created by the consecutive deaths in November 1840 of Maharaja Kharak Singh and his son Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh, Sher Singh claimed the Punjab throne for himself. After several campaigns and negotiations his rivals accepted him as their leader. Sher Singh came to the Lahore Fort and ascended the throne on 20 January 1841. The formal tilak (anointment) ceremony was performed a week later on 27 January by Baba Bikrama Singh Bedi of Una. In the second half of July, Sher Sigh married the daughter of the Raja of Suket. Known in the palace as Rani Dukno, she was famed as one of the most beautiful women of her time. Sher Singh refrained from taking revenge on those who didn’t want him on the throne. Through a proclamation by the beat of drum, he assured the Lahore people of peace and security. The army was warned not to molest the citizens, and the commanders were cautioned to exercise maximum vigilance to this end. Since the maharaja was not able to redeem his promises of rewards to the troops (as Gulab Singh Dogra had stolen and carried away the state treasury to Jammu), they went out of control, killed the regimental accountants and officers, and others whom they suspected of having embezzled their wages or of having dealings with the English, and plundering the city.
Sher Singh was the Sikh sovereign of Punjab from January 1841 until his assassination in September 1843. Historic references tell us that Sher Singh and his young son were brutally murdered by the Sardaran-e-Sindha Walia. After his death Rani Randhawi Singh and her family constructed their Samadhis near this baradari. As per historic accounts Sher Singh was known for working for welfare of his people and that was the reason why people loved and respected him. He ruled only lasted for two and a half years, but that time period is remembered for improving the existing system of governance. Today the baradari and samadhi of this generous ruler are a forgotten and abandoned piece of history. The samadhi which was an important 19th century monument suffered neglect after the end of Sikh rule in Punjab, when the building was abandoned. In 1992 after the incident of Babri Mosque, angry mobs further damaged the structure as an act of revenge. The fresco work on the walls had vanished, the building had cracks and most of the parts had fallen apart during the riots of 1992, the arches were in bad shape as well.
The roof of the building had collapsed and the boundary wall was also gone. It had becoming a garbage dumping ground for the locals. The Archaeology Department of Punjab has recently taken up the conservation of the baradari. The waste depot built in its premises was removed by the Lahore Waste Management Company. The restoration, included addition of the special brick tile masonry, lime plaster, glaze lime plaster, fresco paintings in geometric and floral designs, lime terracing, wooden ceiling, doors and windows, tiles on edge floors and protection of area with steel fence, restoration of vaulted roof of samadhi, construction of apron and cleaning of and repair of the old well. There is also a shrine of famous Sufi Saint Allama Mirza Syed Shah Bilawal Qadri inside the baradari. This is why the baradari is known as baradari of Shah Bilawal. Writers like Kannahiya Lal Hindi and Justice Abdul Latif have mentioned this festival in detail in their researches. This festival used to take place in December. We need to develop the baradari into a tourist spot and ensure that this site does not vanish in the future. A café, library, sitting space, and history plaques should be installed there for tourists and a small ticket should be there to pay for the upkeep of the monument.
Published in Daily Times, September 6th 2018.
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