Gurdwara Lal Khuh Mochi Gate Lahore 

By : Syed Faizan Naqvi

Lahore Pakistan

Faizannaqvi10312@gmail.com

This historical Red Lair is present inside Mochi Darwaza. This historical well was located in the mansion of the minister of finance during Jahangir’s rule, Chandu Mil (Chandu Lal). The mansion was located at this place. The fifth Guru of the Sikh religion, Guru Arjan Dev Ji had a personal enmity with Chandu Mil. It is mentioned in Tehqeeqat-e-Chishtion page number 124 regarding this that “the issue between Guru Arjan Dev Ji and Courtier Chandu was that Chandu had a daughter. According to tradition he sent Brahmins to Delhi to look for a suitable match for his daughter. Therefore, when those Brahmins came to Amritsar to the presence of Guru Arjan Dev Ji they saw the Guru’s son Gobind Sahib playing nearby. They chose him and returned to Chandu Lal to inform him of the affair of things. Chandu Lal said that I am a minister (Wazir) and he is a pauper (Faqir). It is not befitting to place the brick of a wastage holeonto a front-facing wall of a house. At this they said that he is the son of Guru Arjan, who has thousands of disciples. He holds kingship while being a saint.

At this Chandu said that there is no objection then. We shall make him rich by giving him money; you go and talk to him about the matrimony. It was by coincidence that one of Guru Arjan’s Sikhs was also present in Chandu’s court, he informed Guru Arjan about the conversation by sending him a letter stating that Chandu Lal shall come to you, it is obligatory upon you to reject his proposal for matrimony. When the company reached Guru Arjan, he denied their offer. When Chandu Lal got to know of the state of affairs, he became an arch nemesis of the Guru. This was the reason Chandu Mil provoked Jahangir against the Guru to such an extent that Jahangir, on the suggestion of Chandu Mil, summoned Guru Arjan to Lahore and handed him over in the custody of Chandu. Chandu imprisoned the Guru in a cell in his mansion where this well was present. Guru Arjan Dev Ji used this well for drinking water and bathing. The Guru spent the remainder of his life in this mansion and had to face severe castigation. All of Lahore’s Sufi saints and Sadhus used to come to him to know about his condition. It was to such an extent that even Mian Mir (R.A) himself came to meet him and suggested Chandu to fear God by saying: OhNefarious! Why do you afflict a saint of God? Even then Chandu did not desist and continued to experiment new torture techniques.

 

It is written in the GuruGranthSahib that Chandu Lal’s daughter-in-law was the daughter of one of the Guru’s Sikhs. When she got to know that my father-in-law has imprisoned the Guru, she found an opportunity and bribed the guards who were appointed to keep an eye on the Guru with a few rupees. She then brought a bowl of water with her to where the Guru was imprisoned. She went to his presence and fell to his feet, she said: “Maharaja! My father-in-law is a tyrannical person who is giving you such severe punishments while I am a Sikhgirl living in his house. My days and nights pass in pain thinking about how I shall show my face tomorrow on the Day of Judgment, maybe I shall have to face chastisement”. Guru Arjan Dev Ji said: “You have no fault in this, whatever someone shall do, he shall have to face its consequence as well. Fear not, for we are satisfied with you, now tomorrow we shall pass away and soon after that this house shall fall into disaster and its inhabitants shall have to face severe torment”. The poor girl started to cry loudly after hearing this and then pleaded: “Maharaja! Pray that I pass away before you so that I attain salvation from thecalamity that shall strike this house”.  The Guru then said: “You shall die tomorrow as well then”. The Sikh girl returned after hearing this.

He began to torture him in different ways and a month passed. The torture was to such an extent that Chandu used to heat up water in a pot and have him seated in the pot; he did not give him food for many days. He used to heat up wood, put a pan on it and force the Guru to sit on it. When this news reached the Sikhs they said: “Maharaj, if you order us we shall all invoke a congregational curse upon him”. Guru Arjan forbade them from doing so and said that this was not feasible, this world only last for a few days. We shall bear these pains and leave this world and the stains of notoriousness shall remain on Chandu’s forehead till the Day of Judgment. My son shall take my revenge from him. Intervening in the interests of God is sheer infidelity. When Chandu got tired of trying new torture techniques one day he brought a fresh cow skin and said: “Accept what I say or else I shall get you sewed inside this skin and killed”. To this Guru said: “Let me bathe in the Ravi river, we shall accept whatever you say after this”. After coming back from bathing he lay down on the floor and covered himself with a sheet and passed away. Then a few Sikh assistants brought the body on the banks of the river Ravi and cremated his body where a dome is currently present. When Guru Hargobind heard of this news he vowed to avenge his fathers death from Chandu.

According to another narration which is present in all Sikh religious books and in Tehqeeqat-e-Chishti that when Courtier Chandu got tired of doing a lot of oppression, he got a fresh cow skin brought and said that if you obey my command right now it is better for you; but if you deny it I shall put you within this and sew this skin and get you killed. Guru Arjan Dev Ji requested to bathe one last time in the River Ravi and said that after this I shall accept whatever you want of me. Chandu Lal gave the permission and Guru Arjan Dev Ji was brought to the River Ravi with Chandu’s guards keeping an eye on him. When they came to Ravi near the Fort where this beautiful dome is located, he dived in for a bath and never returned. Maharaja Ranjit Singh later had a Gurdwara constructed at this place as a memorial. Later, the sixth Guru Hargobind dominated over Chandu Lal through political means to avenge his father’s blood.

When Guru Arjan Dev Ji died, Hargobind Singh came to Amritsar and had a throne created by the name of AkaalBongathat is present even today and named that place AkaalTakht. It was severely damaged during the Operation Blue Star in 1984.He started the keeping weapons and an army and used to keep two swords instead of one gave his Sikhs to do the same. He said that one sword is for wealth (Amiri) while the other is for saintliness (Piri).

At this time Chandu Lal sent a letter to the GuruSahib that due to the will of God, Guru Arjan Dev Ji has passed away. It is mandatory upon you to accept my daughters hand in marriage now or else I am a Royal Bureaucrat and I shall not let you live in peace. Guru Hargobind said: “Beware! I shall surely avenge my fathers death”. At this, due to envy, Chandu wrote to Jahangir that in the city of Amritsar the son of Guru Arjan Dev Ji possesses many weapons and considers himself theonly true King. He has made a throne there and has an army of thousands of men. He lives like a royal. You should summon him so that you can assess the situation. Emperor Jahangir summoned the Guru to Delhi. The Guru started his journey to Delhi along with the Royal carriage and left Bhai Buddha and Bhai Gurdas in charge in his absence.

When the Guru reached Delhi he got a meeting fixed with the emperor on the edge of the River Jamna (Yamuna). When he met the emperor he questioned him in the first meeting:“Say, are Muslims better of Hindus?” The Guru read this poem of his fathers’ to him:

Some say RamRam some say Khudai

(Ram Kali Mehla 5, Panna 885)

The emperor got really pleased after hearing the poem revered him greatly; to such an extent that he took him along with him on hunting trips. One day a lion appeared from within the jungle and came towards the emperor but the Guru killed him alone. The emperor got extremely happy from hearing this and all his doubts faded away. When Chandu Lal saw that the emperor is not having negative suppositions of any sort but instead his respect for the Guru is increasing day by day. I should make such a plan Guru Hargobind and the emperor separate, lest it be that he unites with the emperor in taking revenge for his father. Thinking of this he told the court astrologers to inform the emperor that bad days are about to come upon him, the solution to this is that the Guru should chant for him in the Fort of Gwalior. Thus, the astrologers said as were told. To this, the emperor was forced to tell the Guru to go to Gwalior and offer chants for him. When the Guru reached there, Chandu Lal had already sent a letter to the in charge at the local police station informing him that the Emperor wants Guru Hargobind to be kept in strict conditions since he is an enemy of the emperor. The in charge imprisoned the Guru. At that time 52 Kings of other states were in the same prison and the guard of the prison was a Sikh of the Guru by coincidence. The Guru got facilities and comfort because of this. At this time the Emperor saw a dream in which a lion was attacking him and the Guru saved him from the lion.

Due to this the emperor got convinced that what the astrologers had predicted was correct. The emperor was convinced that he got saved due to Guru Hargobind’s chanting. The next morning he went for the interpretation of his dream to the presence Hazrat Muhammad Lateef, who was very aged at that time. The Emperor said to him: “Sir! What is fakiri?” He said that is whatever Guru Arjan Dev Ji did, that is; he suffered but never hurt anyone else. Sadly, your Courtier Chandu killed him. When Guru Arjan Dev Ji was imprisoned in his house; all the fakirson the face of the earth went to himin support but he was patient on the oppression of Chandu and asked for no ones support except for God. The emperor was extremely saddened after hearing this and at the same time gave Nawab Wazir Khan an order to bring Guru Hargobind back. When Guru Arjan was asked to return, he said that these 52 Kings should also be released as they have suffered a lot. Nawab Wazir Khan wrote a letter to Emperor who said that they should also be released for the sake of the Guru, this way they were also released due to the GuruSahib’s intercession and arrived with him to Delhi and became rulers in their respective lands. It is said that during this time when Guru Arjan came to the royal court, he had a simran i.e a Tasbih in his hand that was really beautiful and expensive, which had rare gems in it.

 

Emperor Jahangir said: “GuruSahib! If you bestow me with one bead from your simran then I shall make it the main bead in my tasbih”. The Guru said: “Your highness, this entire tasbih is yours as an offering; may you be blessed. TheGuru then said: “Your majesty, our father Guru Arjan Dev Sahibhad a similar mala for his neck which was a thousand folds better than this; it is in Chandu Lal’shouse. You should get that mala from him. Otherwise I shall be its demander on the Day of Judgment”. The Emperor ordered Chandu Lal to bring that prayer bead; he searched everywhere but could not find it. The emperor was disappointed at him for this and the Guru spontaneously demanded the blood money for his father’s death. The emperor imprisoned Chandu Lal and handed him over to Guru Hargobind, he said that you could take revenge from him in whatever way you please. The Guru put an iron chain in his neck and locked him up among his hunting dogs; he also addressed his Sikhs saying: “Whosoever is from amongst our followers should hit him with their shoes 5 times each”. Then his head was put in dirt and he was brought to Amritsar along with hunting dogs. The emperor also came in that direction first to Gamtala and then to Lahore. A few days later Nawab Wazir Khan, the Guru and Chandu also came to Lahore. Over here Chandu was paraded in the city on a donkey with his face blackened. When the famous Bean fryer called Moli Tari, whom Chandu Lal appointed to torture Guru Arjan Dev Ji, saw Chandu Lal in that condition he took his bean-frying ladle and stabbed himself in the stomach in such a way that it burst open and his intestines came out. He died in the market in front of the people.

 

The Sikhs on the order of the Guru dragged his dead body outside the city. Then, when Guru Hargobind Singh came to Lahore he stayed at Mazang. That location became a place of worship since then. It is called Makan Chayween Paat Shahi nowadays. The Gurdwara is located on Temple Road in Mazang. This location at Lal Khoh Mochi Gate was initially smaller in size. The Sikhs later bought the surrounding houses and constructed a building. The Parbandhak committee managed this place from 1927 until 1947. The management is currently with the Department of Matroka Waqf Imlak. This is now a high-raised room, the size of which is approximately 8x10. The inside is painted red whilst outside there is an inscription bearing the name of Lal Khoh. Mechanic Javaid Chinioti built it in 1977 with the support of Zia-ud-Din Butt. The walls of this now bear the name of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) as well as Ayats and all the building has been painted red due to which Laal Khoh is famous. Everyone respects this place. Opposite to it is the Rafiq Sweets Shop.