Lahore, February 13 After nearly 80 years, Sikh prayers were held at a historic gurdwara in Aitchison College in Lahore, Pakistan, according to college officials on Friday.
The Aitchison Gurdwara had been closed since 1947 due to a lack of Sikh students, but the college maintained it.
“On Wednesday, a historic and emotional Sikh prayer was held at the gurdwara on the Aitchison College campus on Mall Road in Lahore,” said Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia, an honorary envoy of Aitchison College.
“The special Sikh worship at the gurdwara was held as part of the 140th anniversary of the college, which was attended by about 100 people,” Dr. Butalia told PTI.
“It was a nostalgic moment for me to worship at the same place that my father, grandfather, and great grandfather prayed every evening before partition while they were students at Aitchison College,” he said, adding that he helped the college organize this event for the 140th anniversary celebrations.
Aitchison College Principal Turab Hussain said, “The prayer service at the gurdwara after 1947 at Aitchison College was a spiritual moment to kick off the 140th anniversary celebrations. We look forward to many more such occasions. We hope this promotes more communal harmony, mutual understanding, and respect.”
The foundation stone of Aitchison College was laid on November 3, 1886, as an institution to provide education to the royals and chief families of undivided Punjab.
The Aitchison Gurdwara was designed by Ram Singh, the famous Sikh architect of the then Mayo School of Arts (now National College of Arts) in Lahore.
The foundation stone was laid in 1910 by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, who himself had studied at the college from 1904 to 1908.
The Patiala royal family spearheaded the 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 prayer services.
“There are 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 its interior architecture resembling a castle,” Butalia said.
In addition to the gurdwara, the college also has a pre-partition era mosque and a Hindu temple. The mosque was built in 1900 by the Nawab of Bahawalpur, while Maharaja of Darbhanga laid the foundation of the Hindu temple in 1910.