Speaking Archaeologically™

The Manauli Fort, Mohali The morning of August , the day of the season’s first site visit carried with it a wave of familiarity. In the car, on the way to the site, as we were seated alongside a bunch of eager new recruits, memories from Batch 2018’s first site visit last year dropped by to say hello. The Manauli fort, located in a tiny hamlet in Punjab, approximately 15.5 Km from Chandigarh, was once a symbol of bolstering defence and Sikh pride. Several local testaments reveal that the fort was built sometime in the 17th Century, by a certain Mughal ruler. A century later, as the Sikh-Muslim enmity took shape in the form of several battles and Misls came to power in the state of Punjab, Nawab Kapoor Singh of the Singhpuria Misl clinched the fort from the Mughal ruler and encouraged his fellow Sikhs to settle in the area. Today, akin to an old man with several afflictions, it’s a desolate piece of history crumbling away amid state apathy The present state...

Member Anubhav Preet Kuaur Nirankari sums up the forgotten history of the Nirankari Movement In the late 15 th century, Guru Nanak embarked on a road to propagate an  ideology of fruitful living, not another religion of blind faith. He linked the spiritual salvation of man with that of social salvation. It was an ideology, which if followed in its entirety, would not only lead to personal well being but also well being of the society as a whole. Nanak had established a third Panth. Panth does not mean a religious system, but a ‘way’ for the society to prosper. This ideology created a sense of a social responsibility in man which involved that he has to create a society with which he could solve the problems of socio political oppression, aggression, discrimination and conflict. Guru Nanak died in 1539; however his ideology survived him. The three centuries that followed marked an era of prosperity for Sikh ideology. The number of followers increased manifold. Compilation a...

Nanded is a heavenly town in state of Maharashtra, India. It is 650 kms east of Mumbai by road: approximately an 11 hour drive and 250km from Hyderabad, Telangana. Sachkhand Express is a special superfast train which starts from Amritsar, Punjab and reaches Nanded in 34 hours 10 minutes roughly. Nanded is connected to all major airports in India, like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Delhi to name a few. Medieval Miniature Painting showing Guru Gobind Singh, Himachal State Museum, Shimla Sri Hazur Sahib is the principle Sikh shrine, and a part of five Takhts (throne). It marks the site where Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji (The last Sikh Guru) had his camp in 1708 and left for his heavenly abode (Parlok Gaman). It was here in first week of September in 1708, when Guru Ji baptized Bairagi Sadhu Madho Das to Sikhism and named him Banda Singh Bahadur (Gurudwara Banda Singh Ji marks this event). “The Eternal Father willed and I raised the Panth. All my Sikhs are hereby ordered to accep...

Guru Ram Rai Darbar in 1858 From the very early years of my life, I have been exposed to all the diverse cultures of India. However, Sikhism has always, somehow, formed a greater part of the influence. Be it my ancestral village, my paternal house or even my current abode in Dehra, I've always been surrounded by a Gurudwara with the blessings of the Guru upon me. My December task (which if I recall correctly, was on regional archaeology) was to write on the Guru Ram Rai Darbar from a historical point of view and archaeological observations. Now the beauty of living in Dehra lies in the fact that once you start exploring the winding lanes, you cannot escape from leaving any place undiscovered. This served me well when I had to pen down my essay for this holy place.   Shri Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib in Dehradun is a philanthropic organization of the Udaseen sect . Sri Guru Ram Rai ji, the eldest son of the seventh Guru of the Sikhs- Sri Har Rai ji, had established ...