Gurdwara Sri Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, was under the control of Mahant Narayan Das in the year 1920. Among all the mahants, he was the most notorious drunkard and morally corrupt person. He had turned the sacred shrine into a center of debauchery. In 1917, he arranged a prostitute’s dance within the precincts of the gurdwara. Alcohol was consumed openly inside the gurdwara premises, and his disciples were extremely degenerate. In 1918, a retired Sindhi officer visited Sri Nankana Sahib with his family. At night, his 13-year-old daughter was raped by one of the mahant’s followers. The same year, on the day of the full moon, six women from the Jaranwala area of district Lyallpur were similarly assaulted by the mahant’s men. When Sikhs protested, the mahant arrogantly replied: “This gurdwara is our private property. Do not bring your women here.” Seeing his increasing tyranny, on 26 January 1921, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee passed a resolution to hold a major Sikh gathering at Sri Nankana Sahib on 4, 5, and 6 March 1921 to discuss gurdwara management and demand reform from the mahant. Upon learning this, Mahant Narayan Das convened a Sanatan Sikh Conference in Lahore on 19–21 February under Baba Kartar Singh Bedi to plan resistance against the Akali reformers. The mahant secretly gathered criminals, hired armed Pathans, and amassed weapons, ammunition, kerosene, and firewood, plotting to massacre Sikh leaders. This conspiracy was exposed by Bhai Variam Singh. Bhai Kartar Singh Jhabbar and others decided to seize the gurdwara before March. 21 February 1921 At 6 a.m., Bhai Lachhman Singh’s jatha entered the gurdwara singing hymns and began Asa Di Vaar. Soon, the mahant ordered gunfire. Peaceful Sikhs were martyred. Survivors were hacked with sharp weapons. Bhai Lachhman Singh was hung upside down and burned alive. Bhai Dalip Singh was thrown into a blazing furnace and martyred. Bodies were piled and burned. Aftermath The atrocity spread shockwaves across Punjab. The British were forced to hand over control of the gurdwara to the Sikh Panth. Punishments On 12 October 1921, the mahant and his accomplices were sentenced to death and life imprisonment, later reduced by the High Court. Thus, through immense sacrifice, Gurdwara Sri Nankana Sahib came under Sikh control. After the 1947 partition, it remained in Pakistan. These martyrs are remembered daily in Sikh prayers: “Those who sacrificed themselves for the service of gurdwaras… remembering their devotion, say—Waheguru!” — Jorawar Singh Tarsikka
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