Rejuvenation of Sikh Heritage – Case of Maharaja Sher Singh Complex in Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

This research article is an effort to rejuvenate Sikh heritage in Lahore being a memorial place for a brutal incident occurred with a member of royal Sikh family. Maharaja Sher Singh was second son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and fourth Maharaja of the Sikh empire. He was killed with his younger son, Kanwar Partab Singh in the Baradari, a place used by him as a summer palace. The Samadhies of Maharaja Sher Singh and his young prince were constructed in the close vicinity. The site was also known as a sacred place in relation to a 17^th century saint, Hazrat Shah BilawalQadri. The baradari of Sher Singh is a protected monument under the Antiquity Act 1975 and Punjab Special Premises Ordinance 1985. The whole complex was burnt by a crowd gathered in retaliation for deconstruction of Babri Mosque in India in 1992 and the heritage site was conserved in 2012. Data has been collected from archaeology department and past experiences of the author. Visual surveys and interviews have also been conducted and concluded that there is a dire need to transform it as a history museum or a tourist place for Sikh pilgrimage through adaptive reuse.