LAHORE: Lahore was ruled by many rulers of different dynasties and all of them have left their mark on it, most significantly in the form of buildings and architecture. The Badshahi Mosque and Shalamar Gardens, built by the Mughals, remain timeless landmarks while the buildings of the GPO, Secretariat, Govt College etc continue to evoke the city’s colonial heritage.

Strangely one rarely hears about the contribution of the Sikhs to the country’s architectural heritage despite the fact that Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s empire spread across Punjab and north western region with Lahore as its capital for over half a century. Several Sikh structures from that era have fallen into disrepair due to negligence of the state.

UK-born Bobby Singh Bansal has made it his mission to count and record all the Sikh structures in Pakistan. His parents lived in Rawalpindi before migrating to Amritsar. The first time he came here was in 1989 when he was 18.

“Once I began to read about the Sikh empire I couldn’t stop and it was sad. In the UK all ancient structures are given the same importance, regardless of who built them but in the region of my roots, there is serious partiality when it comes to history. Only the dominant narrative is promoted.” The architecture under the Muslim Mughal rule has always been given more attention in Pakistan.

Mr Bansal began to document the buildings by photographing them. The structures were not limited to Lahore and Nankana Sahib. Original sites extended from Indus River to China, Kashmir, borders of Sindh and Sutlej River in the south.

Ninety percent of the empire’s remnants are in Pakistan and most of them fall under the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB).

Bansal’s pictorial records led to the publishing of his book, Remnants of the Sikh Empire, but he plans to republish it as a coffee table book. These days, he is working on tracing all the descendants of Ranjit Singh’s generals both in India and Pakistan.

Ranjit Singh used the military expertise of Europeans as well. Among these mercenary generals were Jean-François Allard and Claude Auguste Court from France and Paolo Avitabile and Jean-Baptiste Ventura (Italians). There were Americans too, including Alexander Gardner and Josiah Harlan, later the governor of Gujrat. Bansal has already resurrected a statue of Ranjit in south of France, opposite Allard’s statue. Allard’s descendant was also present on the occasion.

Bansal has managed to trace about 35 families in Pakistan who are descendants of Ranjit’s generals.

“It’s hard to believe that these are the descendants of rich and powerful people who once ruled Punjab. Today they have lost all grandeur, some even working as farmers. Their legacy makes little difference to them in their daily lives.

“Some families still have age-old relics - an old sword or a piece of jewellery.”

Many of the families have converted to Islam.

Bansal recently visited the mansion of one of Ranjit’s generals, Jawala Singh, who was married to Ranjit’s sister-in-law. It is in a village Padhana at the border.

“To maintain the ownership of the haveli, his descendants converted to Islam but the mansion is in a shambles.” Bansal has tried telling the owners about how they can promote tourism.

Mentioning other such neglected buildings, he says, the grand summer palace of Ranjit Singh along the Chenab in Rasulnagar has its doors and windows missing and its roof has caved in. It used to overlook the river Chenab and Ranjit stayed there in the summers. Many of the other structures have been painted over by regular paint, covering the faded frescos and the engraved figurines. One of these structures has been painted a vivid shade of yellow while the main façade of the building retains its original red colour – a ghastly combination. There is a Sikh presence in other places, including the Lahore Fort’s Huzoori Bagh, and the Sikh Pavilion in Shalamar Gardens. There can be five Sikh structures within a 10-mile radius where you stand but no one would know about it.

“Even the Sikhs themselves do not know much about these structures. When pilgrims come, they are taken to a few gurdwaras but are not allowed to move around independently. There is so much more to the Sikh architecture than the gurdwaras.”

Bansal says Sikh architecture is quite unique with its quintessential jharokas, and archways as well as the dome-shaped towers. It has both Mughal and Hindu influences. Perhaps Sikh architecture is at its finest in the haveli of Naunehal Singh at Mori Gate, which includes mirror work. Naunehal’s mansion also has paintings of dancing girls and effigies of gods and goddesses. Ranjit Singh’s tomb near the Lahore Fort was engraved with red and yellow gemstones but these have all been pillaged. It has even been whitewashed.

“I was also shocked to see that the lotus-shaped marble urn that had some of his ashes has now been removed,” says Bansal. Ranjit’s Samadhi housed not just his ashes but also those of his four Suttee queens and seven slave girls. Ranjit’s lotus urn is under a marble pavilion in the centre of the tomb and the ashes of the queens and slave girls surround him in smaller knob-like urns.

“Apparently, some radical Sikhs wanted these structures removed from the top of his tomb and now it is just a plain slab of marble,” says Bansal. “What I would like to know is who authorised for this removal?”

“It is awful what is going on. This is not just about preservation of Sikhs in its religious context. This is about the heritage of Punjab’s empire. We have to teach our children this history and the value of these remnants,” he says.

“Some of the monuments which are in a better state have been turned into military barracks like the Bara and the Shabqadar Forts both in Peshawar and the General Hari Singh Nalwa’s Jamrood Fort in the KP.” Others are being used or owned by migrants who came from India and were allotted pieces of land but they have hardly cared. Many are not educated or aware enough of the goldmine they are sitting on.

Bansal has called for the protection of the remnants of the great Sikh empire.

He continues his work on chiefs of Punjab and their descendants. Eighty per cent of the work is complete and the book is due next year. He is also working on a documentary on the remnants of the Sikh empire in Punjab.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2017