Mr Sunil Dutti, Mayor, Municipal Corporation, discussing plans for restoration of the historical gates. ' Photo by Rajiv Sharma

The ancient city of Amritsar that flourished under the royal patronage of Maharaja Ranjit Singh witnessed large-scale destruction of its invaluable heritage after his (Maharaja's) death.

The historical gates, which used to protect the city from invaders, were demolished one by one with the passage of time. The rich heritage was vandalised when the Sikh leadership was totally demoralised after the annexation of Punjab by the British following the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Though the British administration tried to re-construct some of the historical gates, most of the sites were named after English administrators.

Mystery shrouded the 'disappearance' of two historical darwazas (gates) named after two Sikh warriors ' Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. Most of the heritage lovers are not aware when and why the rich heritage belonging to the period of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was demolished. However, a map of the Municipal Committee, Amritsar, published before the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh depicts 12 historical gates, including Darwaja Ramgarhia and Darwaja Ahluwalia.
(Top and below) Proposed designs of Ahluwalia and Ramgariha gates.
' Photos by Rajiv Sharma

On the basis of the clue, found in the two old maps of Amritsar Corporation (1849 and 1947), Mr Onkar Singh Sandhu and his team presented to the Mayor the proof that the gates were in good condition before Partition. Moreover, history books point out that the Chattiwind and the Ghee Mandi gates were named after Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, respectively.

Mr Sandhu approached the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and senior functionaries of the local municipal corporation and the SGPC for re-construction and renaming of the old demolished gates. He urged them to rename these gates after the names of great Sikh warriors to keep the rich heritage alive.

The book ' 'Amritsar, a study in urban history' by Anand Guaba, and 'Sri Amritsar' ' a book by Giani Gyan Singh Tehrik ' clearly show that the Chattiwind and the Ghee Mandi gates were called Ramgarhia and Ahluwalia darwajas.

The Ramgarhia Federation said its demand to rename the two gates was genuine, as it was based on research. The federation also demanded to rename Katra Ramgarhia, which was developed in 1760 and was located between the Gilwlali Gate and the Doburji Gate (Sultanwind Gate) and was surrounded by Katra Dal Singh, Katra Mit Singh and Katra Garbha Singh which is based on record.

Expressing concern over the indifferent attitude of all concerned, Mr Sandhu said Sikh institutions should immediately come forward to preserve the rich Sikh heritage.

'I had heard from my elders about Katra Ramgarhia when I was in school. My inquisitive mind took me to various libraries. All books stated that Ramgarhia was the biggest Katra. Then we found an 1849 map of Amritsar in Anand Gabha's book (A study in urban history). The book mentioned the existence of various historical gates, including Darwaja Daburji (Sultanwind Gate), Darwaja Ramgarhia (Chatiwind Gate), Gilwali Darwaja and Katra Ramgarhia,' said Mr Sandhu.

The Ramgarhia Federation believes that these gates were demolished after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The Ghee Mandi was earlier the Ahluwalia Gate which was the direct route to the Ahluwalia Qila. However, with the passage of time, the area emerged as the Ghee Market and hence it was popularised as the Ghee Mandi Gate, and the old historical name was virtually forgotten by the residents.

Thanks to the efforts of the Ramgarhia Federation, the local municipal corporation passed a resolution on January, 15, 2003. The corporation agreed, in principle, to rename the Sultwanwind Gate. Mr Sandhu said that initially no one was ready to accept his point that the Ahluwalia Gate and the Ramgarhia Gate had existed.

'We distributed a number of copies of the old maps to senior officials and politicians to substantiate our claim that bore fruit ultimately,' he said. Mr Sandhu said that when a deputation of the Ramgarhia Federation had met the present Congress Mayor, Mr Sunil Dutti, Mr Om Parkash Gabbar, Deputy Mayor and other senior councillors, they had immediately promised to pass a resolution in that regard. Earlier, at least three MLAs and senior SGPC members had strongly recommended their case.

While the design of the Ahluwalia Gate has been picked up from the Ahluwalia Qila, the design of the Ramgarhia Gate has been copied from the old picture of the Qila Ram Rauni, which was reportedly demolished during the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Though the municipal corporation passed a resolution to reconstruct the historical gates about two years ago, the SGPC has shown indifference in restoring the old Sikh heritage. The Ramgarhia Federation alleges that despite a number of representations made to the Shiromani Committee, it has failed to elicit any response. Mr Sandhu said that the SGPC should either construct these gates at its own level or help the federation with building material so that the gates could be reconstructed at the earliest. It is a matter of concern that though the senior SGPC members had strongly recommended the reconstruction, the Dharm Parchar Committee has reportedly rejected the case without assigning any reason.