The forgotten gurdwaras of Daska

The historic Gurdwara Pehli Patshahi is located in the Fateh Bhandar village near Daska, which is historically significant but is now dilapidated.

Baba Guru Nanak, the spiritual leader of the Sikhs, on his return from Jammu and Kashmir, stayed with his followers in Fateh Bhandar village for a few days. From here he moved to Kartarpur, after which a gurdwara was built there and Sikh pilgrims from far and wide started arriving here.

A Sikh almonry was also built along with the gurdwara. Sikh pilgrims who came to the gurdwara were given a silver coin on their return.

Baba Afzal, a resident of the area, said that along with former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, many members of Sikh community came to Gurdwara Pehli Patshahi, Fateh Bhandar and every year pilgrims also come here for Darshan.

This gurdwara is an example of its own in terms of aesthetics. There are 100 windows and doors on all four sides of the gurdwara and there is decorative work on them.

Its floor is made of marble stones in which Kandakari work had also been done. On the inner and outer walls of the gurdwara are inscriptions in Punjabi language. Over time, the building has become dilapidated due to the neglect of the local administration.

Aslam, a local villager, said that since the 2005 earthquake, there have been many cracks in the building’s walls and roof, while the roof on the second floor had collapsed.

Read the fill story, ‘The forgotten gurdwaras of Daska’ (The Express Tribune, 12 Oct 2020), here.