Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib is one of the nine historical Gurdwaras in Delhi. It was first constructed in 1783 as a small shrine by

Baghel Singh Baba Baghel Singh (c. 1730 – c. 1802) was a military general in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. He rose to prominence in the area around Sutlej and Yamuna. Singh joined the Singh K ...

to commemorate the martyrdom site of the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur and was probably expanded after Indian Rebellion of 1857 or after

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

. Before its construction the Mughal ''Kotwali'' (Police Station and Jail) was situated here. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the Mughal Kotwali was demolished by the British.and the land was given to the Sikhs because the Sikh Maharaja of Patiala and other Sikh soldiers helped the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

to defeat the Mughal soldiers by providing large numbers of

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

and soldiers. Its current building was made by Rai Bahadur Narain Singh a contractor who build most of roads in Lutyens New Delhi construction under British Rule. Situated in

Chandni Chowk The Chandni Chowk, also known as Moonlight Square is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. It is located close to the Old Delhi Railway Station. The Red Fort monument is located at the eastern end of Chandni Chowk. It was b ...

Old Delhi Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor at the time) decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. T ...

, it marks the site where the ninth Sikh Guru was beheaded on the orders of the

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

on 11 November 1675. The Sikh regiment of the Indian army salute the Sis Ganj Gurudwara before saluting the president of India since 1979, the only instance of saluting twice in the Republic Day parade by a regiment of Indian army.

History

The ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded here on 24 November 1675 on the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. However, before their body could be quartered and exposed to public view, it was stolen under the cover of darkness by one of his disciples, Lakhi Shah Vanjara who, then burnt his house to cremate Guru's body; today, at this site stands Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib. The trunk of the tree beneath which the head of the Guru was severed and the well used by him for taking bath during his prison term have been preserved in the shrine. Also, adjoining the gurudwara, stands the ''

Kotwali Dhaka Kotwali ( bn, ঢাকা কোতোয়ালী) is the Sadar (Principal) Thana of Dhaka District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Geography Dhaka Kotwali is located at . It has 31992 units of household and total area 0.67&nbs ...

'' (police station), where Guru was imprisoned and his disciples were tortured. Located close to it is the

Sunehri Masjid (Chandni Chowk) The Sunehri Masjid () is an 18th-century mosque in Old Delhi. It was built by Mughal noble Roshan-ud-Daula, during the reign of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah. It is located near the Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Chandni Chowk, once an imperial ...

. On 11 March 1783, Sikh military leader

(1730–1802) marched into Delhi along with his army. He occupied the Diwan-i-Am, the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II made a settlement with them agreeing to allow Baghel Singh to raise gurudwaras on Sikh historical sites in the city and receive six annas in a rupee (37.5%) of all the octroi duties in the capital. Sis Ganj was one of the shrines built by him, within the time span of eight months, from April to November 1783. However, due to volatile political climate in the coming century, the site alternated between being a mosque and a gurudwara. It became a site of dispute between two communities, and litigation followed. Eventually, after prolonged ligation the Privy Council during

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

ruled in the favour of the Sikh litigants and the present structure was added in 1930; gold gild of the domes was added in the coming years. The Mughal-era ''Kotwali'' was handed over to the

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) is organization in India responsible for the management of Gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in Delhi. It also manages various educational institutions, hospitals, old age homes, librar ...

around 1971. The severed head ("Sis" in Hindi or Punjabi) of Guru Tegh Bahadur was brought to

Anandpur Sahib Anandpur Sahib, sometimes referred to simply as Anandpur (lit. "city of bliss"), is a city in Rupnagar district (Ropar), on the edge of Shivalik Hills, in the Indian state of Punjab. Located near the Sutlej River, the city is one of the most sa ...

by Bhai Jaita, another disciple of the Guru. Another gurudwara by the same name, Gurudwara Sisganj Sahib at

in Punjab, marks this site, where, in November 1675, the head of the martyred Guru Teg Bahadur, brought by Bhai Jaita (renamed Bhai Jivan Singh according to

Sikh rites The Sikhs engage in various rites and services. Some Sikh rites are meant to be practiced in a ''gurdwara'' congregation, while others are practiced at home or in other contexts. Ardas ''Ardas'' is a formal prayer recited at the end of most Sik ...

), in defiance of the Mughal authorities, was cremated.

Photo Gallery

File:India - Delhi Sikh Temple - 5758.jpg, View of the Prayer hall from above File:Gurdwara sis ganj.jpg, Gurdwara Sri Guru Sis Ganj Sahib in Chandni Chowk File:Sheesh Ganj Gurudwara.jpg, Sheesh Ganj Gurudwara File:Interior-view-Gurudwara-Sis-Ganj-Sahib-Night-View.jpg, View of the front of the Darbar Sahib or Prayer Hall showing the

Palki Palki ( fa, پلكي, also Romanized as Palkī) is a village in Nakhlestan Rural District, in the Central District of Kahnuj County, Kerman Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia ...

housing the Guru Granth Sahibji

References

External links

Gurudwara Sis Ganj

Gurudwara Sis Ganj
at wikimapia {{coord, 28.6558, N, 77.2325, E, source:kolossus-ukwiki, display=title Religious buildings and structures completed in 1930 Gurdwaras in Delhi History of Sikhism 1783 establishments in British India

History

Photo Gallery

See also

References

External links