In a good news for the Sikh community, the historic haveli in Gujranwala, Pakistan, where Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh was born, will be restored. Pakistan’s Punjab Affairs Minister and Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) president Ramesh Singh Arora has given the green signal to the project. The haveli reflects the architectural influence of the Mughals and Rajputs and holds great significance for Sikhs around the world. After Partition, it was neglected for a long time and like many other Sikh heritage sites, it too was damaged.
Haveli Gujranwala is located on a small square in the old part of the city, its red brick part is now close to the fish market. In 2022, a part of the haveli and the roof collapsed due to lack of maintenance. The Department of Archaeology and Museums of Pakistan has declared it as a protected cultural heritage building.
In a post, PSGPC said that Ramesh Singh Arora has given permission for the reconstruction of the historic mansion of Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh located in Gujranwala. It is planned to be completed before the Maharaja’s birth anniversary on June 29, 2025. A year earlier, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh had appealed to the Pakistan government to restore Sikh heritage sites and remove illegal encroachments from historic gurdwaras.
History of Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was born on November 13, 1780. He established a large empire in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, known as ‘Sarkar-e-Khalsa’. He spent a lot of his childhood in this mansion.