Aitchison College gurdwara echoes with Sikh verses after 78 years
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LAHORE: A gurdwara located within the premises of the historic Aitchison College was opened for a religious ceremony for the first time since Partition.
The gurdwara had remained closed for the better part of a century, as no students from the Sikh faith were enrolled at the famous school.
The Keertan ceremony on Friday, attended by current and old students as well as members of the Sikh community, was held as a part of the institution’s 140th Founder’s Day celebrations.
“It was a nostalgic moment for me in particular to worship at the same place where my father, grandfather, and great grandfather prayed every evening before the Partition while they were students at Aitchison College,” said Dr Tarunjit Singh Butalia, an honorary envoy of Aitchison College.
Alumni, members of Sikh community take part in Keertan ceremony held as part of 140th Founder’s Day celebrations
“It was a historic and emotional moment. This gurdwara had not been functional since Partition, but was well maintained by the college management,” he said.
Dr Butalia further said there were currently about 15 Sikh alumni of Aitchison College living in India who fondly remember going to the gurdwara, with its black and white marble floor, and the inside resembling a castle.
Harwinder Singh, a local Sikh youth who led the Keertan ceremony, remarked, “What a joy to sing these holy verses at this over 100-year-old gurdwara which we had never visited, even though we live in Lahore.”
Aitchison Principal Dr SM Turab Hussain said: “We look forward to many more such occasions and hope this promotes more communal harmony, mutual understanding, and respect.”
Once also known as ‘Chiefs College’, the foundation stone of Aitchison was laid on Nov 3, 1886, as an institution to provide education to the royals and chief families of undivided Punjab.
The Patiala royal family championed fundraising for the building. The gurdwara building was completed in the next year or two, and dedicated as a functional space where Sikh boys attended daily evening prayers.
The gurdwara was designed by Ram Singh, the famous Sikh architect of then-Mayo School of Arts (now National College of Arts), Lahore. Its foundation stone was laid in 1910 by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, who studied at the college between 1904 and 1908.
Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2026
