Monumental loss: Kanwar Sandhu There has been an unfortunate loss to our rich heritage last week. Lahori Gate, the entrance to Qila Sarai in Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala District crumbled four days ago. In fact, I was alerted on this by a well wisher, Harjap Singh Aujla, who belongs to Kapurthala but now stays in USA. He has been raising issues of public importance from time to time. This historic building is at least 400 years old, though there are indications that it may be as old as 600 years and may have been there since the times of Guru Nanak Devji, first Sikh Guru. Alas, with it a page of our history is erased! What is sad is that fears of this monument crumbling had been expressed from time to time. Also, since the building housed a police station, the Government should have ensured its maintenance. Bhai Baldeep Singh, who had contested the Lok Sabha polls on AAP ticket from Khadoor Sahib, has been raising a hue and cry on this but sadly no one listened. Now of course, the Government officials have visited the site and promised to put iron scaffolding around the remaining building. The portion of the gate which crumbled is to be repaired. But this is not enough. The Government must identify all old buildings in the state - there are many like Qila Mubarak in Patiala besides numerous ones which were built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Even the buildings like the District Court Complex in Kapurthala built by the British needs restoration and renovation. Then there are war memorials built after Anglo-Sikh wars in Mudki and Feroze Shah. Let the Government make a list of these and plan for their restoration and renovation. They should all be developed as tourist places of interest, especially for NRI kids who would love to know about their past heritage. The Punjab Government must remember that if you dont read your history, preserve your heritage and identity, you will not be able to script your future.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 21:29:55 +0000
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