A leaf from history
Floods change landscape. Here is how it happened near Chunian
By Haroon Khalid
As evolution paves its way the map of civilisation unwittingly alters. Cities, towns, villages and temples that are centre of our existence enter the realm of oblivion when nature takes its course. The recent devastating floods in Pakistan would also have a similar impact. Various locations that only a few months ago were thriving with activity would no longer remain important, while on the other hand; those areas that were alien to human existence would become important. This has been the course of nature.
About 260 years ago when river Beas used to flow parallel to Sutlej near the vicinity of Chunian there was a massive flood that permanently sealed the fate of a huge Sikh temple called Dera Chubara. The river no longer flows from here but the remains of the old track are found all the way till Multan.
The Lahore Gazeteer of 1883-84 gives reference of this flood and this building. This huge complex was associated with a sect within Sikhism. These were the followers of Prithvichan, the rebel son of fourth Sikh Guru Ram Das and elder brother of the fifth Guru Arjun. He was jealous of his younger brother whom the Guru had nominated as his successor, so he established his own sect, which functioned simultaneously with the mainstream religion. The smadh of Prithvichan is found outside the village of Hair on Bedian road. Dera Chubara was an impressive structure, now just a torn down building.
His son Mehrban summoned this edifice near the city of Chunian. The complex was composed of three buildings, one square in plan whereas the other two rectangular, originally built on an elevated platform made out of burnt brick. The main square structure was right in the middle. According to the survey report of Archaeological Sites and Monuments in Punjab Volume 1, this portion of the structure was constructed during the Shahjahan era.
The other two were additions made during the Sikh tenure. It was constructed in the form of a pavilion with nine arched openings, three on the eastern side and two each on all the others. All the entrances are adorned with elaborate stalactite designs decorated with fresco on the soffits. Floral frescoes mark the structure. The vaulted roofs are covered with lime plaster and decorated with floral motifs in fresco.
The remains of Mehrban were buried in this building. Presently inside, earth has been dug and a couple of potholes are present, perhaps in search of hidden treasure. The additional buildings on the Western side are also constructed and adorned in a similar manner. They must have been rooms for travellers and priests.
A thick boundary wall of which only the remains are visible protected the entire structure. Tajamol Kaleem, a Punjabi poet from Chunian who entertained us in the city told us that there were life size elephants sculpted on each corner of the wall. Now no trace is found. The archaeology report on this building also confirms this piece of information.
Devotees of this sect used to come from far away regions to pray here. This was the centre of this school of thought. However, after the flood this entire structure was destroyed never to regain its popularity. Ardent believers say that after the flood Mehrban cursed the river which resulted in it drying up.
There is no easy way to get to this place, especially if not commuting by a jeep. On the Changa-Manga-Chunian road there is a road that turns left about, 2 km before Chunian if one is travelling from Changa Manga towards Chunian. This road that passes through the village of Mohammadipur takes us straight to our destination. There is no metalled road from the village to the monument.
Most of the part is made of earth with huge holes and gaps. In this rainy season I strongly advise not taking such a journey without a jeep. The final part of the road is made of bricks constructed by a local landlord who travels on it; however, now it is in such a bad state that one wishes it wasn’t there at all.
The descendants of Prithvichan and Mehrban had established themselves at the neighbouring village of Muhammadipur after the construction of this edifice. When Ahmad Shah Abdali attacked this region he forcibly took away all of the land from this family and appointed a Muslim governor, as is noted down in Punjab Chiefs. The person dislocated at that time was Jevan Mal seventh in line from Guru Ram Das. From here he travelled on to district Ferozepur where he met a Muslim landlord called Sultan Muhammad from the Dogar clan. Sultan Muhammad took him under his protection.
At that time the landlord had a conflict with the neighbouring jagirdars and he thought the clot that Jevan Mal enjoyed amongst the local community would increase his power and would serve the cause of peace too. He gave him a large portion of his land where he established his own village. This community was named Guru Harsahai after his eldest son. This property, which was worth 3,740 rupees annually at that time remained with them, even when Ranjit Singh came to power and later the British acceded the throne.
Despite this restoration of the status the Dera destroyed by the flood was never restored. In pre-partition Punjab devotees of this sect were mostly found in Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Kohat and Dera Ghazi Khan.
An interesting aspect of the history of this particular sect is that even though they diverge from the mainstream religion, the antagonism that one finds between other religious sects was not present in this case. When Ranjit Singh came to power, showed tolerance by allowing them to retain the property that they had acquired in the previous era. Also despite being in vulnerable position due to their small population, communal riots were never reported.
On the contrary this community even serves in some of the mainstream Gurdwaras during langars and other religious festivals displaying the form of tolerance not many religious sects have been able to exhibit. Perhaps in contemporary Pakistan, Muslims from various sects can learn a lesson from these Sikhs.