NAPA Executive Director Satnam Singh Chahal who recently visited this Haveli along with his family members said that he is very much pained to see the deteriorating condition of this historical Haveli which had a very important place in the Sikh History.
Chahal explained, "This Haveli popularly known as Jahaz Haveli or Jahaz Mahal is the 17th-century residence (Haveli) of Todar Mal, a local businessman from Sirhind, and an ardent follower of the Sikh Gurus, who became the Diwan in the court of Nawab Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sirhind, under Mughal Empire. Today, he is most remembered for defying the Mughals by arranging for the cremation of young martyred sons of Guru Gobind Singh and his mother."
Describing the religious and historical importance of this Haveli Chahal said that on the 13 December 1705 Diwan Todar Mal performed the cremation of the three martyred bodies of the two younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh, Zorawar Singh aged about 6, Fateh Singh aged about 9 and their grandmother, Mata Gujari.This incident occurred after the Sahibzade had been executed by the Mughal authorities on the 12 December 1705 for not renouncing their faith and the death fro the shock of their grandmother at the news of the sudden and despicable execution of the innocent youngsters. This wealthy merchant had to cover the required ground for cremation with gold coins to get the release of the three bodies.
The compassionate Sikh trader of Sirhind, according to tradition, performed the last rites for the two younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh martyred on the orders of Wazir Khan, faujdar of Sirhind, and of Mata Gujari, the Guru’s mother. It is said that landowners around the Sirhind Fort would not permit him to hold the cremation in their fields until one Chaudhari Atta agreed to sell him a plot.The administrator’s stipulation was that the buyer Todar Mall will take only as much of the space as he could cover with gold mohars (gold coins), that he would lay out for the purchase. The Diwan produced the coins and bought the piece of land he needed for the cremation. It is estimated that at least 7,800 gold coins were required to buy the required land.Diwan Todar Mal raised the required number of coins and that he cremated the three bodies and putting the ashes in an urn which he buried in the land he had bought. The site is now marked by Gurdwara Jyoti Saroop at Fatehgarh Sahib, near Sirhind.
It is very unfortunate that neither the Punjab Government nor the SGPC are taking care to preserve the historical monument. Taking matters more seriously Chahal with the support of NAPA is now urging the SGPC and the Punjab Government to take immediate necessary steps to preserve this historical Haveli, although no official verdict has been reached yet.
