Gurdwara Sri Shaheed Ganj Singh Singhnian
About Gurdwara Sri Shaheed Ganj Singh Singhnian
Gurdwara Sri Shaheed Ganj Singh Singhnian is situated opposite to Gurdwara Sri Shaheed Ganj Bhai Taru Singh in Lahore. Thousands men, women and children of all ages were tortured and martyred at this site by Mughal rulers. Muin Ul Mulk (d. 1753), shortened to Mir Mannu, was the evil mughal governor of the Punjab from March 1748 until his death in November 1753. After Mir Mannu defeated Ahmad Shah Durrani at Manipur, he was rewarded with the governorship of Punjab in March 1748.
Mir Mannu was given task to exterminate the Sikhs of the Punjab in a mass Sikh Genocide and not leave a single Sikh alive. So we can say a genocide took place here but also a fact that Khalsa renaissance started after this genocide that changed the whole scenario – it was then a Jail where Sikh men and women were brought. They were given one option either to accept Islam or get tortured and killed. This triggered the Sikhs to seek refuge in the mountains and jungles. Mannu issued orders to the hill chiefs to seize Sikhs and send them to Lahore in irons. He offered a 10 rupee reward for the head of any Sikh. Rewards were offered for information on any Sikh’s whereabouts. Thus, hundreds of Sikhs were brought to Lahore daily where, refusing to convert to Islam, the Sikh men were quickly beheaded.
The Sikh wives and children were made to suffer much longer and more brutally. Offered an ‘easy out’ if only they would convert, the women bravely refused and were put to work as prison laborers. Often brutalized and raped they were made to look on as their children were tortured and butchered. The childrens bodies were cut to pieces. The children’s limbs were fashioned into garlands which were draped around women necks. In the basement of this jail here, the women were raped, tortured, starved and worked to death as they were forced in their weakened condition to mill tons of grain each day. The fighting and reprisals went on until the death of Mir Mannu on 4th November 1753 by a fall from his horse. Finally Maharaja Ranjit Singh rewarded Jagir to this Gurdwara and frequently visited this Gurdwara to pay homage to Gurdwara. Shaeedisthan of Bhai Taru Singh is in litigation and closed for yatra. However Parkash takes place in this recent constructed Gurdwara Singh Singhanian..
