Dawn of a New Era: The Upgradation and Administrative Creation of Nankana Sahib as a Tehsil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70670/sra.v4i1.2493Keywords:
Nankana Sahib Tehsil, Sikh Committee, Gurdwara Governance, Colonial Administration, Tehsil Restructuring.Abstract
This study examines a pivotal transition in the administrative history of Nankana Sahib: its formal elevation and structuring as a tehsil following the intervention of the Punjab colonial government. In the wake of the severe Gurdwara outrage, Governor Sir Edward Maclagan, accompanied by executive councilors, visited Nankana Sahib to directly address communal distress and restore public order. The colonial administration sought reconciliation by transferring the governance of the holy shrine to an eight-member Sikh management committee. This administrative handover, coupled with the official establishment of Nankana Sahib as a tehsil unit, represented a watershed moment. It ushered in a "new era" characterized by decentralized administrative authority, formal local governance, and enhanced institutional autonomy for the region.
References
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. Muhammad Ramzan Anwar,Tarikh e Syedwala (Lahore: Aqeel Publisher, 1993),25,30-32.
. Record of Notified Area Committee (1913-1930).
. Record of Municipal Committee(1930-1947).
.Muhammad AkramShahid, ‘‘Nankana Sahib Mazi o HaalkeAaine Ma”, Magazine Mazrab,Government Degree College ,Nankana Sahib ,October,1986,81.
. Mohinder S. Saini (Tumber), Fond Memories & Living Realities (Hoshiarpur: Saini Publications, 2013), 17.
. Official list or document of education department of Nankana Sahib.
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. Raja Rasalo,La Preet Ajahi Muhammad(Lahore:Pakistan Punjabi Adabi Board,2008),21-30.
. Official list or document of education department of Nankana Sahib.
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. Dr Syed Sultan Mahmood Hussain,Tareek e Sheikhupura, (Lahore:Izhar Sons, 1999), 219.
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. Ibid
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. Interviewed with Mianzahid Sheikh and Mian Mansoor Sheikh, MahallahSheikhan,Nankana Sahib City, 02 Febrary,2017.
. the researcher had taken the photograph on 11-01-2017.
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. Interviewed with Dr Tahir Mahmood,Associate Professor at GCU Lahore,12 December,2017.
. He was the successor of Rai Bular Khan Bhatti’s family.
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. From Hakeem Mahtab Din’s Interview
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. He was born at Narowal district Sailkot.His father name was Sheikh Ghulam Mohammad.He received his early education from Narowal.He passed his matriculation examination from Mission High School, Narowal.He went to Lahore for higher studies.He completed his graduation from F.C. College Lahore. Later her passed his L.L.B from Lahore and started his practice at Sheikhpura in 1935.
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. Ibid.
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- He maintained written record of Nankana Sahib Muslim League from 1938 to 1948 and reserved 819 chirographs in his record. Nankana Sahib had great significant due to the birth place of pioneer of Sikh religion therefore almost all political and religious parties established their branches at Nankana Sahib. Hakeem Mahtab Din recorded the data and prepared reports including monthly, six month, and annually and posted them to Muhammad Hussain Chatha at Sheikhpura, Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Mamdot at Lahore and Quaid-e-Azam at Bombay. He sent 227 reports of different meetings to mentioned above and year wise tally is as under.
Year Reports
08
04
05
19
29
19
80
63
In 1947 police raided the office of the Muslim League and Hakeem Mahtab Din’s house and seized a lot of record and carried with them.
. Dairy of Sheikh Hakeem Mahtab Din(1938-1948),3.
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. Ibid,12-16.
. Ibid.
. Ibid,16,17.
. Ibid,16-25.
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. WaheedAhmad,The Punjab Story, 1940-1947:The Muslim League and the Unionists Towards Partition and Pakistan (Islamabad:National Documentation Wing Cabinet Division, Government of Pakistan,2009),103-104.
. Interviewed with Haji Rai Zafar Ali Bhatti, Village Zafarabad, 12 Febrary,2017
. Dairy of Sheikh Mahtab Din (1938-1948),29,30.
