| History consigned to oblivion in Jalandhar |
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| Written by Anju Agnihotri Chaba, Chandigarh Newsline | |||||
| Friday, 13 July 2007 | |||||
 Jalandhar. Of the 30 centuries-old sites of archaeological importance in Punjab, Jalandhar has six, but the district is missing from the the tourism chart. The apathy of the Tourism Department can be gauged from the fact that some of the important monuments do not even have an approach road. However, lovers of age-old art and buildings can heave a sigh of relief as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started renovation of these sites. On such site is Dakhni Sarai, which is one of the finest and best specimens of Mughal Caravan sarais built along the old GT Road. It stands in Dakhni village on the Nakodar-Kapurthala Road, near Jehangir village. The sarai, which was notified as a national monument in February 18, 1919, was built by Mughal noble Ali Mardan Khan during the reign of Shahjahan in 1640 AD. It comprises 124 cells around a closed quadrangle with two imposing gateways in the centre of the eastern and western quadrangle. Inside the quadrangle are a mosque and a well. The three-storey facade of the gateway show arched recesses and openings on the either side. The gateway projecting out of the wall is strengthened with octagonal towers crowned with domical cupolas. This monument has a great tourism potential, but in absence of any approach road, tourists have to pass through a kuccha road. The ASI has written to the administration a number of times to construct the road, but to no avail. Conservation work is on at the two historical tombs in Nakodar. One of them is tomb of tambura player Mohd Momin, who was also known as Ustad Muhammed Husseini, alias Hafizak. Square from inside and octagonal from outside, the hemispherical dome sits over a low cylindrical drum. Close to the tomb of Momin is the tomb of Haji Jamal, a pupil of Ustad Muhammed Husseini. Built in 1657 AD, the tomb stands in the middle of a square platform. Nurmahal Sarai in Nurmahal is perhaps the only known monument in Jalandhar.Earlier encroached by the police and a school, the ASI has got the sarai vacated and started conservation work.The town and the sarai were named after Nurjahan, consort of Jahangir. The legend has it that she was brought up in this town. According to the inscription on the east and west gateways, the sarai was built by Nawab Zakariya Khan, governor of Doab, on the orders of Nurjahan in 1618 AD. Another two ancient sites related to the Harappan culture and facing neglect -- one at Nagar called Ghatti and other at Katpalon-- were notified as the National Monuments in 1954 and 1968, respectively. Restoration work is on at Mughal Bridge Dakhni, notified as a national monument in 1923. Located to the south of Malian Kalan village on Nakodar-Kapurthala Road, this is one of the extant Mughal bridges built during the reign of Shahjahan. KPS Badoria, Superintending Archaeologist in Chandigarh, said funds were not a problem for the conservation work, as they come from the Centre. When asked why such monuments were not being exploited as tourism places, he said it was the work of the Tourism Department to publicise them. He rued that they had time and again written to the government for constructing an approach road to Dakhni Sarai, but got no response. He added that they regularly organise exhibitions to make public aware of such monuments.
Arvind Singh
said:
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| It's a shame that these historical sites are not being better preserved. Jalandhar has a wealth of history but government apathy and neglect can only be changed by people taking a personal interest in these sites. With Archaeological Survey if India (ASI), it might bring much needed attention to these sites. These sites would be wonderful for tourism in Jalandhar and during my trip to India in November-December, 2007, I plan to visit these sites. Arvind Singh |
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