In the beautiful region of Potohar in northern Punjab, there exists a small town amidst lush green fields and low hills. It is called Kallar Syedan. Before independence, it was likely referred to simply as Kallar. Its claim to fame, and to a place in history, lies in a magnificent haveli which, even after more than a century and a half, still stands tall. I had long wished to visit it, and finally, on a warm and sunny day, April 30, 2023, my friend Mr. Iftikhar Ahmad Bhatti and I reached there. It is located at 33°25'0.49"N, 73°22'50.98"E.
Sikhs entered this region of Punjab in 1765, when the sardar of the Bhangi Misl, Gujjar Singh, defeated the Gakhar chief Muqarrab Khan at Gujrat. Subsequently, Sikh influence rapidly increased and was later consolidated under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. During this period, a large number of Sikhs settled in this region due to its pleasant climate, fertile valleys, and strategic position. There were also many conversions from Hinduism to Sikhism. The family of Baba Khem Singh Bedi, who constructed this haveli, settled here in 1848.
The Bedis are direct descendants of Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, and are therefore revered by the Sikh community. Baba Khem Singh was a spiritual leader of his community, being the 14th direct descendant of Baba Guru Nanak.
Another view of the haveli. (30.04.2023.)
بیدی محل
قدیم تاریخی خوبصورت عمارت فنِ تعمیر کا عظیم شاہکار ہے۔ یہ دو کنال آٹھ مرلہ پر مشتمل تین منزلہ عمارت ہے۔ اس کی تعمیر سکھوں کے مشہور مذہبی و روحانی پیشوا کھیم سنگھ بیدی نے 1860 میں کرائی۔ جس کا تعلق گرو نانک کے خاندان سے تھا۔ انگریزوں سے وفا کے صلہ میں اس کو انگریزوں نے اعزازی مجسٹریٹ کا درجہ بھی دے رکھا تھا۔ کھیم سنگھ بیدی کی وفات کے بعد اس کا بیٹا گروبخش سنگھ بیدی محل کا وارث بنا۔ بیدی محل کا ذکر ہندوستان کے مشہور ناول نگار دیوان سنگھ مفتون کی مشہور کتاب "ناقابلَ فراموش" میں بھی ملتا ہے۔ بیدی محل کی تعمیر میں استعمال ہونے والا پتھر کلر سیداں سے تھوہا خالصہ روڈ پر واقع "بھائی نی بن" سے لایا گیا تھا۔ محل کی تعمیر اٹک کے بہترین کاریگروں سے کرائی گئی تھی۔ پلستر میں چونا، سرخی اورپٹ سن کے ریشے استعمال کیے گئے تھے۔ محل کی بیرونی دیواریں تین فٹ سے بھی زیادہ چوڑی ہیں۔ جبکہ کے اندرونی دیواریں ڈیڑھ فٹ چوڑٰی ہیں۔ بیدی محل میں دو تہہ خانے بھی ہیں۔ بیدی محل میں داخلے کے لیے واحد راستہ ایک بڑا دروازہ ہے۔ جو کہ پانچ فٹ چوڑا اور ساڑھے سات فٹ اونچھا ہے۔ محل کے اندر دو گیلریاں ہیں، پہلی گیلری میں بائیں طرف بڑا خوبصورت ہال ہے، جبکہ کہ دائیں طرف نیچے اوپر دو گارڈ روم ہیں۔ اندرونی گیلری میں داخلے کے لیے مزید ایک بڑے دروزے سے گزرنا پڑتا ہے۔ محل کے اندر بڑی گیلری کے چاروں اطراف بڑے اور ساتھ چھوٹے کمرے ہیں۔ کمروں کے آگے خوبصورت برآمدے ہیں۔ محل میں روشنی اور ہوا کے لیے چاروں اطراف واقع کمروں میں خوبصورت روشندان ہیں۔ برآمدوں کی دیواروں پر سکھوں کی مشہور شخصیات کی مختلف رنگوں سے خوبصورت تصاویر بنی ہیں، جو کہ فن مصوری کی عمدہ مثال ہیں۔ چھت دیار اور شیشم کی لکڑی سے تیار شدہ ہیں۔ دوسری اور تیسری منزل پر جانے کے لیے محل کے اندر چاروں اطراف سیڑھیاں ہیں۔ مختلف کمروں میں سکھوں کے مشہور مذہبی مقامات کی دیدہ زیب تصاویر بنی ہوئی ہیں۔ محل کے اوپر تیسری منزل کے چاروں کونوں میں گارڈ روم ہیں۔ محل کے داخلی دروازے کے باہر سامنے ایک قبر کی شکل کی چارپائی بنی ہوئی ہے۔ اس عظیم شاہکار کے پتھر پر گورمکھی زبان میں لکھا ہے، جس کا اردو ترجمہ یہ ہے۔ "رام سنگھ بھاٹیا نے باباجی کی یاد میں ٹہل کرائی"۔ اس چارپائی کے ساتھ ہی لوہے کا تیس فٹ بلند پول ہے۔ جس کے اوپر سکھوں کا مشہور مذہبی نشان "کرپان" بنا ہے۔ قیام پاکستان کے بعد محل میں گورنمنٹ سکول قائم کردیا گیا۔ 1989 میں محل کو خطرناک عمارت قرار دے دیا گیا۔ سکول کی نئی بلڈنگ کے قیام 1997 تک، بیدی محل میں گورنمنٹ ہائی سکول کلر سیداں قائم رہا۔ اب بھی بیدی محل سکول کی ملکیت ہے۔
خصوصی تعاون: ہیڈ ماسٹرو سٹاف گورنمنٹ ہائی سکول کلر سیداں (بتاریخ 1.1.2023)
Bedi Mahal
Bedi Mahal is an ancient and beautiful building, a great masterpiece of architecture. It is a three-storey structure built on two kanals and eight marlas of land. It was constructed in 1860 by Khem Singh Bedi, the famous religious and spiritual leader of the Sikhs, who was a direct descendant of Guru Nanak. In recognition of his loyalty to the British, he was also granted the honorary rank of Magistrate. After the death of Khem Singh Bedi, his son Gurbakhsh Singh Bedi inherited the palace. Bedi Mahal is also mentioned in the famous book Naqabil-e-Faramosh by the renowned Indian novelist Dewan Singh Maftoon. The stone used in its construction was brought from "Bhai Nee Ban," located on the Kallar Syedan–Thoha Khalsa road. The palace was built by the best craftsmen of Attock. The plaster contained lime, red brick dust, and hemp fibers. The outer walls of the palace are more than three feet thick, while the inner walls are about one and a half feet thick. The palace also has two basements.
There is only one entrance to the palace, a large gate that is five feet wide and seven and a half feet high. Inside the palace, there are two galleries. In the first gallery, there is a large, beautiful hall on the left, while on the right, there are two guard rooms, one above the other. To enter the inner gallery, one has to pass through another large doorway. Around the central gallery, there are large rooms with adjoining smaller ones, and in front of them are beautiful verandas. For light and ventilation, the rooms on all four sides have finely crafted ventilators.On the walls of the verandas are beautiful multicolored paintings of prominent Sikh personalities, an excellent example of fine art. The ceilings are made of deodar and sheesham wood. Staircases on all four sides lead to the second and third floors. Some of the rooms feature exquisite paintings of famous Sikh religious sites. On the third floor, there are guard rooms at all four corners.
Outside the main entrance, there is a stone platform shaped like a grave. On this stone, an inscription in Gurmukhi reads: “Rama Singh Bhatia had this constructed in memory of Babaji.” Next to this platform stands a thirty-foot-tall iron pole, atop which is the famous Sikh religious symbol, the Kirpan. After the creation of Pakistan, a government school was established in the palace. In 1989, the building was declared dangerous. Until the construction of the new school building in 1997, the Government High School Kallar Syedan functioned in Bedi Mahal. Even today, Bedi Mahal remains under the ownership of the school.
Special contribution: Headmaster and staff, Government High School Kallar Syedan (dated 1.1.2023)
On our first visit, we could not enter the building of the haveli. It was a Sunday, and the keys to the building were locked in the Principal’s office. This incomplete visit disappointed me. However, I was determined to come again. The opportunity came after a long time, on September 4, 2025. This time I dragged my son along with me, who, though not an enthusiast of such things, occasionally enjoys such visits.
This time, I had already made some arrangements through my cousin, Abul Hassan, in Gujar Khan, and the school administration had given us an appointment at 1:00 p.m. So we could visit the school right after the off-time. We reached there a little before our appointed time and had no difficulty entering the main building.
Now something about the builder of this splendid haveli, Baba Sir Khem Singh Bedi, and what could be a better source than Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab. His family had their roots in Una, Hoshiarpur district. Later, a branch moved to Jalandhar. They also held many jagirs in the Gugera district later Montgomery. Baba Khem Singh Bedi was born in 1832 and gained prominence during the Rebellion of 1857. The subsequent story I shall share with you as written in the above-mentioned book:
During the rebellion of 1848-49 Sampuran Singh and Khem Singh remained faithful to the Darbar, while Bikram Singh joined the rebels.
At annexation the brothers were found in possession of jagirs in the Jullundur Doab, valued at Rs. 12,725, and of others, valued at Rs. 15,000, in the present Montgomery district, then Pakpattan. The latter included two separate grants, viz., twenty-seven villages in Taluga Basirpur, valued at Rs. 10,000, and fourteen villages in Taluga Hujra, valued at Rs. 5,000. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had given the great-grandfather of the brothers, jagirs in the Hujra ilaqa to the extent of Rs. 30,000, which his son and grandson enjoyed; but Maharaja Nao Nihal Singh resumed all Hujra, and the Darbar after the Sutlej War regranted only a jagir of Rs. 5,000. This was resumed, and the Basirpur jagir only allowed to the brothers in equal portions for their lives, one-half to descend to their heirs male in perpetuity.
In 1857 Khem Singh, when quite a young man, rendered good service to Government in the Montgomery district. He escorted treasure; he assisted in raising men, horse and foot; he took charge of the Jail during the withdrawal of the guards for the disarming of the company of Native Infantry stationed at Gugera; he accompanied the district authorities in almost all their expeditions against the insurgent tribes, and was always forward when there was fighting on hand. For these services he received at the time a khilat of Rs. 3,000, but he was subsequently further rewarded.
Bawa Khem Singh became, as he grew up, by far the most noted and powerful spiritual guide among the Sikhs, and acquired wide authority throughout the whole of the Punjab west of the river Ravi from Multan to Peshawar. He invariably exerted his influence in promoting the ends of government. In the matter of female education he was quite a pioneer, and afforded most valuable support to the movement both by reason of his priestly character, which enabled him to overcome many prejudices, and by his personal exertions in establishing schools. The successful introduction of vaccination in the western Punjab and Peshawar was largely due to his energy. In 1878-79 he assisted in recruiting fifteen hundred Sikhs for the Punjab Frontier Force. And he further set an excellent example in breaking up the waste tracts of the Montgomery district, and in inducing cultivators to settle down in what was then a somewhat inhospitable and desolate part of the province. His estate of fourteen thousand acres in that district, acquired principally by purchase or under ordinary lease converted into a proprietary title, forms a standing illustration to the people of the successful application of private capital and individula energy in the face of unfavourable natural conditions.
In 1879 Bawa Khem Singh was selected for the honour of Companionship in the Order of the Indian Empire. In 1822, in consideration of the services above mentioned, a sum of Rs 2,500 out of the life jagir held by him in Jullundur district was released in perpetuity, and half of the land revenue of the Basirpur ilaqa, amounting to Rs 1,800, which was to have lapsed on his death, was declared heritable for two generations. The jagirs of Bawa Khem Singh stood as follows:-
(1) Perpetuity:- Rs
One fourth revenue of Basirpur ilaqa, Montgomery district 1,800
Jagir in Jullundur district 2,500
(2) For two lives, one fourth revenue of Basirpur 1,800
(3) For life:-
Fluctuating revenue (due to canal irrigation) of half Basirpur ilaqa 2,000
Jagir in Jullundr 2,675
Muafi in Hoshiarpur 150
Muafi in Rawalpindi 32Total 10,957
In 1887 the Government sanctioned an additional culturable lease of nearly eight thousand acres of land in the Montgomery district in his favour. He was appointed a Magistrate of Montgomery in 1877, and an Honorary Munsif in the year following. He was for a term an additional member of the Legislative Council of the Supreme Government; and was created a Knight Commander of the Indian Empire in 1898. Bawa Khem Singh most loyally offered his services on several occasions when the political necessities of the time led him to believe they might be of value to Government. He died in 1904.
