A pennant erected on a mound amidst ruins of a site where 35,000 Sikh were massacred by Ahmed Shah Abdali’s army on February 5, 1762, is what the successive governments and Sikh religious organisations could be proud off.

Had the move to construct gurdwara Shaheed Ganj near the mound not started, the historical site could have remained in oblivion.

After politicians, irrespective of their political alliances, tried to gain benefits out of it by announcing grants for the proposed memorial, a few religious leaders have aroused a bitter controversy over the selection of the site for the proposed monument.

Investigations by The Tribune revealed that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had authorised Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa to acquire the land for constructing a memorial at Rohira to commemorate the sacrifices of 35,000 Sikhs, including children and women.

Before the administration could start the process of acquiring the land, a group led by organiser of a gurdwara started demanding a memorial at Kup da Tota, where 12 persons were killed during the “rasta roko andolan” on April 4, 1983.

Office-bearers of Trust running the affairs of the gurdwara, on the other hand alleged that the controversy was being created to benefit the land mafia. “The fact that Sikhs were massacred at Rohira can be verified through any known archaeological or scientific procedure,” said Jagwant Singh Jaggie.

“Bara ghallughara”, as is known in the local dialect, is situated at Rohira, 3 km from Ahmedgarh towards the East. The monument stands concealed under a canopy of acacia trees. The successive governments led by the SAD and the Congress had done little towards according it the status of a national monument.

In 1967, Gurmukh Singh, a renowned industrialist of Ludhiana, had taken up the task of renovation and Baba Santa Singh of the Budha Dal took its charge in 1974, which was handed over to a committee formed by the “sangat” of the area. Though Jathedar Kirpal Singh Bhawanigarh had once again started “kar sewa” under the guidance of Baba Sant Singh Tarantaran Wale, the ‘Sangat’ wanted the state government to take up the matter with the Union government.

Then SGPC chiefs Kirpal Singh Badungar and Bibi Jagir Kaur, during their tenures, had declared that a women’s college would be established besides erecting a befitting monument here. Admitting controversies about Sikh history, he had said a board would be constituted within one week to decide on baseless inclusions in history books.

Tikka Raja Shatrujit Singh, the 10 descendant of Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, who bravely held the forces at bay 243 years ago, had also expressed his desire to visit the battlefield where his ancestor had fought. He met the management committee of Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj in 2004.

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