Before 1947, Sikhs formed a significant proportion of the population of Rawalpindi. According to the 1941 census, they constituted 17.32% of the population, while Hindus made up 33.72% and Muslims, being the largest community, 43.79%, out of a total population of 185,042. Naturally, all these communities had their places of worship in the city, including the Sikhs. So far, I have visited six gurdwaras in the city, which had to be abandoned at the time of Partition. You can search for them or find the link in the list on the right side of the blog, on a page dedicated to the category of Gurdwaras.
But there are many gurdwaras in the city which I wanted to visit. One of them is very close to the famous Gurdwara / Temple complex of Bagh Saradaran, a famous and magnificent landmark of the city in the pre-partition era. The locality is still known as Akalgarh but is also now called Gulshanabad. Perhaps both names are in official use. The gurdwara nowadays serves as the Government Muslim Elementary School, Gulshanabad, Rawalpindi. The old gurdwara is located at: 33°37'7.66"N, 73° 3'11.28"E.
I visited this gurdwara a few days ago, on September 16, 2025. I was happy to find it easily and was expecting smooth sailing further. I took a few pictures of the front of the school and was pleased to see that a plaque was still prominently displayed on the main gate. But more about it later. I knocked at the door and a watchman appeared. I told him my purpose of visit. He returned after a couple of minutes and told me that, without official permission, I could not take pictures inside; however, I could meet the headmaster sahib.
The headmaster, Asghar Ali sahib, welcomed me graciously, appreciated my interest in our heritage and also expressed his great interest in history and old buildings. But showed his inability to give me permission to take pictures. However, he advised to me to visit the office of the District Education Office and take permission. This dejected me a little; I was expecting a long and cumbersome interview and even longer red tape. But I proved wrong, and after reaching the office, within a minute, I found myself in front of a remarkable gentleman, Mr Shahenshah Babur Khan, the District Education Officer. I shall write about him in detail in my next post. In short, I left the office with permission to visit the school.
It is a small gurdwara consisting of a main prayer hall and an adjacent verandah. The gurdwara building has undergone many changes during the last few decades. I was informed that the school in this building was established in 1971. And since many new rooms have been constructed in the courtyard of the school. A small house adjacent to the gurdwara was once party of the gurdwara. But now a family is living in it.
In the above picture, you can see an arched door. Actually, these were five open arches of a verandah. Two have been closed to make the office of the Headmaster and the remaining two are hidden behind the new construction.
I found only two plaques in the gurdwara, the first one on the main gate and the second outside the entrance to the main prayer hall.
1 اونکار
گوردوارہ سکھ سیوک کمیٹی اکالگڑھ راولپنڈی
اس گوردوارے دا
بنیادی پتھر
کتک پورنمٰاسی سن نانک شاہی 466
مطابق
29 نومبر سن 1934 تے مَگھر دنے 9
سن ۱۹۹۱ بُدھوار
نوں
سریمان سردار کاهن سنگھ جی آڑھتی
مالک فرم کاهن سنگھ موہن سنگھ، گنج منڈی
راولپنڈی نے رکھیا
This gurdwara’s historic value may not be great, but nevertheless, it is a landmark of an era that ended in 1947. It was good to see that the school administration has carefully preserved the plaques, thereby keeping alive the memory of those who contributed towards its construction.
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