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Shaheed Ganj Mosque

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Shaheed Ganj Mosque
Photograph of the western aspect of Masjid Shahidganj, ca.1930's
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Location
LocationLahore,Punjab,Pakistan
Architecture
TypeIndo-Islamic
CreatorAbdullah Khan
Completed1753
Demolished8 July 1935

Shaheed Ganj Mosque,originally named theAbdullah Khan Mosque(Urdu:مسجد شَهيد گنج), was amosqueinLahore,Punjab,Pakistan.[1]The Mosque was commissioned in 1722 during the reign ofMughal EmperorMuhammad Shahand built by Abdullah Khan construction was completed in 1753 during the reign ofAhmad Shah Bahadur.It was constructed next to the shrine of Pir Shah Kaku. Sikh rule began in 1762, theGurdwara Bhai Taru Singhwas built afterwards within the same grounds. The mosque site was under dispute duringBritish rule,but was demolished bySikhson the night of 8 July 1935.[2]

History[edit]

Construction of mosque[edit]

Abdullah Khan Mosque was built by Abdullah Khan during the reign ofMughal EmperorMuhammad Shah.Khan was acookofPrinceDara Shikoh,elder son ofShah Jahan,in 1743 AD, who rose up to the position ofkotwal(Chief police officer) ofLahorefor his services.[3]It was completed in 1722 (1134AH) by the Falak Beg Khan,[4]and was built in the premises of the shrine to Pir Shah Kaku.[1]

Sikh rule and occupation/destruction of the mosque[edit]

There was apublic squarenear themosque,where criminals were punished during the tenure ofNawabZakariya Khan Bahadur,aMughalgovernor of thePunjabin the 18th century.Taru Singh,aSikhman who aidedSikhsagainst theMughalswas executed. After that incident, the Sikhs officially declaredTaru Singha martyr and named thepublic squareas theShaheedGanj(Martyr Square).[5][unreliable source?]

In 1762, theBhangi Misl Sikh armyconqueredLahoreand occupied the mosque, together with the public square. TheMuslimswere not allowed to enter and pray, althoughSikhswere given the right topray.TheSikhsbuilt agurdwaracalledGurudwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singhin remembrance ofSikh martyrsin the courtyard while the Mosque building was used as a residence for the Sikh priest.[6]

British rule and demolition of the mosque[edit]

Throwing down the walls of the mosque in the course of its demolition, ca.1935

AfterBritish colonial occupationof thePunjabin 1849, The Mosque became an issue between Muslims and Sikhs again. Muslims protested against theSikhoccupation Shaheed Ganj Mosque. On April 17, 1850, Nur Ahmed, a Muslim resident of Lahore, claimed to be amutawallī(trustee) of the mosque and filed a case in Punjab High Court. Nur Ahmed filed several suits between 1853 and 1883 to recover the Shaheed Ganj Mosque, but courts maintained thestatus quo.[7]

On 29 June 1935, the Sikhs announced that they would demolish the Shaheed Ganj Mosque. Several thousand Muslims assembled in front of the mosque to protect it and Anjuman-i Tahaffuz-i Masjid Shahidganj (Organization for the protection of the Shaheedgunj Mosque) was formed.Sir Herbert Emerson,theGovernor of the Punjab,tried to negotiate to find mutually acceptable solution. But, on the night of 7 July 1935 theSikhsdemolished themosque,minutes ofBritish India Privy Councilsay "by or with the connivance of its Sikh custodians",[8]leading to riots and disorder inLahore.

Muslim reactions[edit]

Jamaat Ali Shah(1834–1951), born in Alipur Sharif Dist,Sialkot,Pakistan, led the Shaheed Ganj Mosque movement.[9][10] After the mosque's demolition, the Muslims held a public meetings on 19–20 July at theBadshahi Mosque,and marched directly on the Shaheedganj mosque. Police opened fire on the crowd on 20 July. The Muslims fled from the Shahidganj mosque and dispersed on 21 July, after more than a dozen had been killed.[11][12][unreliable source?]

Court case[edit]

The judgement ofBombay High Courton 2 May 1940 on 'Masjid Shahid Ganj Mosque vs Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak' recognized the building as aMosquebut maintained that theStatute of limitationshas passed since the property has been occupied by theSikhsfor more than 170 years.[13]

Architecture[edit]

The mosque had threedomeseach accompanied by aminaretand fivearches.It had acourtyardand anorchardoffruit trees.[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abJournal of Sikh Studies.Department of Guru Nanak Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University. 1975.
  2. ^Daniyal, Shoaib."A mosque dispute in colonial Lahore could hold lessons for the Babri Masjid case".Scroll.in.Retrieved2020-07-28.
  3. ^Shaheed Ganj Dispute and 'Amir-i-Mi!Iat'ArchivedSeptember 28, 2013, at theWayback Machine
  4. ^Narang, Gokul Chand (1956).Transformation of Sikhism.New Book Society of India.
  5. ^"Gurdwara Shahid Ganj Singh Singhania, Lahore".
  6. ^Ahmed, Hilal (2015-06-03).Muslim Political Discourse in Postcolonial India: Monuments, Memory, Contestation.Routledge.ISBN978-1-317-55954-2.
  7. ^Shahidganj Mosque Issue and the Muslims Response: 1935-1936
  8. ^Lahore's Gurdwara Shahid Ganj: Lesson for AyodhyaArchived2014-02-21 at theWayback Machine
  9. ^THE RELIGIOUS AND REFORMATIVE SERVICES OF RENOWNED SUFIS OF SILSILA-E-NAQSHBANDIA MUJADIDIA (1841-2000) Hussain, Mehrban (2008) PhD thesis, University of Karachi, Karachi
  10. ^"Biographical Encyclopedia of Pakistan".google.co.in.2001.
  11. ^Shaheed Gunj Mosque Incident
  12. ^Edmund Burke; Ervand Abrahamian; Ira Marvin Lapidus (1988).Islam, Politics, and Social Movements.University of California Press. p. 156.ISBN978-0-520-06868-1.
  13. ^abMasjid Shahid Ganj Mosque vs Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak on 2 May 1940

External links[edit]

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