Sirhind Town (Sahrhid)
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Sirhind Town (Sahrhid)
Town in the Fatehgarh or Sirhind tahsil, Amargarh nizamat, Patiala State, Punjab, situated in 30° 38' N. and 76° 27' E., on the North-Western Railway. A mono-rail tramway, opened in February, 1907, runs from the railway station to Basi, 5 miles distant. Population (1901), 5,415. The spelling Sirhind is modern and due to a fanciful derivation from sir-Hind, the 'head of India,' due to its strategic position. Sahrind is said to mean the ' lion forest,' but one tradition assigns its foundation to Sahir Rao, a ruler of Lahore, 166th in descent from Krishna; and Firishta implies that it was the eastern limit of the kingdom of Jaipal, the Brahman king of Ohind, but it has been confused by historians with Bhatinda or Tabarhind. It became a fief of Delhi after the Muhammadan con- quest. Refounded in the reign of Firoz Shah III at the behest of Saiyid Jalal-ud-din of Bokhara, the p'lr or spiritual guide of that king, it became in 1361 the capital of a new district, formed by dividing the old fief (shikk) of Samana. Firoz Shah dug a canal from the Sutlej, and this is now said to be the channel which flows past the town. Sirhind continued to be an important stronghold of the Delhi empire. In 1415 Khizr Khan, the first Saiyid ruler of Delhi, nominated his son, the Malik-ush-Shark, Malik Mubarak, governor of Firozpur and Sirhind, with Malik Sadhu Nadira as his deputy. In 1416 the latter was murdered by Tughan Rais and other Turks, but Zirak Khan, the governor of Samana, suppressed the revolt in the following year. In 1420 Khizr Khan defeated the insurgent Sarang Khan at Sirhind, then under the governorship of Malik Sultan Shah Lodi; and it was here that Malik Bahlol Lodi assumed the title of Sultan in 1451. Under the Mughal sovereigns Sirhind was one of the most flourishing towns of the empire, and is said to have contained 360 mosques, tombs, sarais, and wells. Its ruins commence about a mile from the railway station, and extend for several miles. In 1704 Bazid Khan, governor of Sirhind, bricked up alive in the town Fateh Singh and Zorawar Singh, sons of Guru Gobind Singh, whence the place is to this day held accursed by the Sikhs. In 1708 Banda Bairagi sacked Sirhind and killed Bazld Khan. Ahmad Shah Durrani appointed Zain Khan Subahddr of Sirhind in 1761; but in December, 1763, the Sikhs attacked the place and killed Zain Khan at Manhera, a village close by, and the adjacent country fell into the hands of Raja Ala Singh. The oldest buildings are two fine double-domed tombs, traditionally known as those of the Master and the Disciple, belonging probably to the fourteenth century. The tomb of Bahlol Lodi's daughter, who died in 1497, also exists. Shah Zaman of Kabul was buried in a graveyard of great sanctity near the town. The town contains an Anglo-vernacular middle school and a police post.
Historical monuments
As of 2026
Shariq.Majeed, January 27, 2026: The Times of India
From: Shariq.Majeed, January 27, 2026: The Times of India
Walk down the narrow lanes of this small town — located about 45km southwest of Chandigarh — and you’d find it hard to believe that Chinese scholar Hiuen Tsang trod these very paths some 1,300 years ago. Or that north Indian ruler Prithviraj Chauhan had once passed this way at the head of his army.
It’s as if history no longer felt welcome here and moved out, mournful and uncared for. But there was a time when history ebbed and flowed through its narrow lanes. Sirhind — or Sar-iHind, the crown of India — was, after all, the last major outpost before invaders reached the Yamuna. Temples of the Hindu Shahis — who made Sirhind their capital, with its grandeur said to be second only to Lahore’s — still stand south of Islamabad, the oldest surviving temples in Pakistan. But monuments and structures that are often eloquent narrators of past glories stand in Sirhind as mute spectators, listlessly dotting farmlands and alleyways. In many cases, they exist — plastered, painted over, forgotten — as bricks that were repurposed as construction material to build nameless walls of homes that have sprung up in recent decades.
The town, which forms a twin city with the adjacent Fatehgarh Sahib, has not only shrunk in size and significance, it has also gone missing from Punjab’s mindscape and its cultural discourse. It is where Humayun defeated the Suris to re-establish Mughal rule and where Guru Gobind Singh’s sons were so cruelly bricked up alive. Sirhind is said by some to go back to the time of the Mahabharata, a melting pot of lore and legend. But, then, how did history itself become a victim in historic Sirhind?
Cost Of Neglect
Dr Daljit Singh, professor of history at Punjabi University, Patiala, told TOI that Sirhind is a treasure trove for archaeologists, but it hasn’t got its due. Encroachments are gobbling up what should be protected spaces. The sense one gets on talking to locals is that every brick and old structure here can tell its own history. The only tough part is to actually find and identify them for what they really are.
There is little evidence of any sustained effort by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to explore the historical importance of the area. Despite its rich past as a major provincial centre, there has not been a survey in years to identify historical remains that may lie buried beneath the ground.
Some sites, like Gurudwara Shri Fatehgarh Sahib, Rauza Sharif Shrine and a Jain Mandir, are well maintained. But many historical places like Jahazi Haveli of Diwan Todar Mal — not to be confused with Raja Todar Mal of Akbar’s Navratna fame — Aam Khas Bagh and Sadna Kasai Masjid have remained neglected for long. Areas like Harbanspura, Mahadian, Bara and Talanian, where one would stumble on relics three decades ago, are yet to be explored. Buildings and monuments lie crumbling in wheat fields.
In the 19th century, French traveller V Jacquemont had described Sirhind as “the biggest ruins in India after Delhi”. Yet today, few ever talk of it. As if it had fallen off the map. There is no trace of the Hindu Shahis in any museum in the country.
Buried Past
Elderly residents of Sirhind recall instances of when tilling of the land would turn up artefacts. “Every few days, we would hear someone’s plough had dug up something from history. Bricks were very common to find. Even now such articles turn up. The famous Laalan Wala Bazar near Talanian village is all farmland now,” said 77-yearold Sukhdev Singh. “There were at least four tombs in the area, but we know of two, the Ustad and Shagird tombs. We don’t know what happened to the other two,” he added.
Shamsher Singh, 75, of Talanian village, said silver coins, Sirhind bricks and artefacts of various shapes were regularly found near tombs and in the fields. “There was a raised structure near the village but it gradually disappeared as people levelled it up. Now, farming is going on in the same ground. Govt should have protected these historical sites,” he said.
At Mahadiyan, famed for how often buried history was dug up during farming, former sarpanch Balwant Singh, 75, said one of the mausoleums he saw as a child has vanished and houses have come up there. “Some 30-35 years ago, ‘Tailay’, which was a sort of currency, would be found in the fields every now and then. Who knows what else would have been found had there been a proper dig?” Khalifa Syed Muhammad Sadiq Raza, who manages affairs at the mausoleum (dargah) of the 17th-century Sufi saint Shaikh Ahmad Faruqi Sirhindi (Mujaddid Alf Sani), said Sirhind was an important province for the Mughals as it lay midway between Delhi and Lahore. Punjab Shahi Imam, Maulana Usman Ludhianvi, said, “Sirhind is an important historical area and needs to be explored in the historical context”.
Anecdotes and tales of Sirhind’s buried and forgotten history still keep coming up in conversations. But there are not many who want the past to be dug up. Their fear is that history unearthed would before long get overrun by the present. And will Sirhind then remain the land of fables and myth? Asked about excavations in Sirhind, Sanjeev Kumar Tewari, director-tourism, culture and archaeology, said none has been carried out in the recent past. ASI is carrying out excavations at Sanghol in Fatehgarh Sahib and some other places nearby, he said.
“As of now, Jahazi Haveli is being restored. Around 80% of the work has been completed,” he said. Asked why other monuments are in such a state of disrepair, he said minor restoration work was done at the Ustad and Shagird tombs and at the Tomb of Bibi Subhan. “We are getting estimates drawn up for restoration of other monuments. Also, the property towards the rear of Aam Khas Bagh is being given out for commercial usage in PPP mode,” he said.
Deputy commissioner Sona Thind acknowledged that Aam Khas Bagh and other tombs needed maintenance and said she has written about it to the tourism and cultural affairs department.
Lost Landmarks
Jahazi Haveli | Now being renovated, this mansion built in the form of a ship is closely linked to Diwan Todar Mal. It’s an important reminder of sacrifice and courage in Sikh history. It was Diwan Todar Mal who is believed to have arranged for the cremation of Guru Gobind Singh’s sons, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh, and Mata Gujri in 1705 by covering the required land with gold coins as sought by the ruler of the area.
Aam Khas Bagh | A garden and monument built by Mughal emperor Jahangir, it is under the purview of the tourism department, but it’s in a bad shape. Daulat Khana Khas, Sard Khana and Shahi Hamam show signs of damage. The pavements have cracks, fountains are not functional, and water channels are dry. Weeds swarm the grounds.
Sadna Kasai Masjid | Sadna Kasai was a 13th century saint, poet and mystic from Sindh whose hymns were included in Guru Granth Sahib. This mosque was built in his honour in Sirhind. TOI found that the mosque is largely neglected. One of the two domes is damaged. The hauz (water tank) in front of the mosque is dry.
Rauza Sharif | This is the one in good shape. Khalifa Syed Muhammad Sadiq Raza said they have been carrying out repairs and renovation at the shrine as and when needed. The tomb of Hazrat Masoom Naqshbandi Sirhindi, who was Sajjadanasheen (primary spiritual successor) of Mujadid Alif Sani, too, has been maintained properly.
Shagird Tomb | Dedicated to Khwaja Khan, apprentice of Ustad Syed Khan, this structure, too, is badly damaged. One of the façades is reduced to rubble and the walls are crumbling. The naqqashi on the roof is all but erased.
Bibi Subhan Tomb | The resting place of Bibi Subhan, daughter of Bahlol Lodi (the founder of Lodi dynasty), it is in a relatively better condition though weeds are growing out of its dome and terrace.
Bibi Taj’s Tomb | Believed to belong to the niece of Caliph Ali, it’s situated in Dera Mir Miran area of Sirhind. It’s crumbling in parts and covered over in an infestation of weeds. Ustad’s Tomb | Situated in Talanian village, it’s the resting place of Ustad Syed Khan, a prominent architect and master mason from the Mughal period. The building is riddled with cracks and the land overrun by weeds. The ‘naqqashi’ (fresco) on the roof is vanishing and there’s waste strewn all around.
