Lahore:
80% of the restoration work of Poonch House, Lahore’s first building built during the British era, has been completed and a special gallery has also been established in a part of it to pay tribute to the hero of the freedom movement, Sardar Bhagat Singh.
Poonch House is an architectural masterpiece and has historical and cultural significance. The Department of Industries Punjab started the restoration and decoration work of this building in 2023.
Malik Maqsood Ahmed, former director of Punjab Archeology and chief conservator of the project, told Express News, “Poonch House not only has a historical significance, but it is also a building of distinction in terms of culture and architecture. He said that this building has been used as a government office, its doors, windows, light fixtures were broken while the carvings on the walls were hidden in layers of paint and lime.
He said that the Secretary Industries Dr. Ahsan Bhatta planned the restoration and conservation of this important building and the work on the restoration project started in the year 2023, about 80% of the work has been completed within one year and three months.
72 doors of the building which were closed have been reopened. The skylights and windows have been restored and repaired. For this purpose drawings were first prepared, designs were made with the help of the evidences found.
He also said that the old doors and windows that were thrown in the junkyard were repaired and 98% of the same old cedar wood was used which was still in its original condition after so many years.
According to Malik Maqsood Ahmed, fresco paintings have also been found on the different walls of the building, while the glass work is also visible. All these things have been restored to their original condition, especially the wooden stairs and roofs have been restored to their original condition. In the year 2012, many parts of Poonch House including windows and doors were damaged due to fire. Being restored to original condition.
He said that in the next two to three months, the restoration and conservation work will be completed and the building will be opened for tourists.
Malik Maqsood Ahmed said that in the last days of Sikh Maharaja Dilip Singh’s reign, Lord Henry Lawrence had this building constructed for his residence in 1849. Lord Henry Lawrence was also the guardian of Dilip Singh and the head of the Sikh Army. This was the first building built in Lahore during the British period, after this building the Lord House was built where today the office of the Chief Secretary Punjab is located.
The area of the Poonch House building is 211 kanals, but today, most of the area is occupied by various buildings and government employees’ colony. According to revenue records, this place was owned by Raja Jagat Singh. This two-storied building is a masterpiece of Eastern and Western architecture. After the creation of Pakistan, from 1950 to 1985, this building was used as an industry museum and library, later the offices of various government departments, including the Secretary of Forests, were built here, many of which still exist.
In 1931, Poonch House was the residence of the then Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Sir Meredith Plowden, the final trial of sedition case against Hirobhagat Singh and his associates of Freedom Movement was held in the same building.
Secretary Industries Punjab Dr. Ahsan Bhatta said that Sardar Bhagat Singh Gallery has been established in a large hall of Poonch House, this is an attempt to pay tribute to the struggle and sacrifices of freedom movement hero Sardar Bhagat Singh.
He said that there were very limited funds for this project, while he held about 71 meetings with the Commissioner and Chief Secretary after which the Chief Secretary approved the restoration of Poonch House.
He said that the final trial of the case of Sardar Bhagat Singh, Sikh Dev and Rajguru took place in this room and they were sentenced to death. This room is very important in this regard. Bhagat Singh and his associates were sentenced to death for throwing grenades in the Assembly and were executed on March 23, 1931.
Bhagat Singh Gallery is decorated with various photographs of him, copies of court trial verdicts, copies of execution orders, various newspaper clippings, photographs of Bhagat Singh’s family and other documents.
Ehsan Bhatta said that most of the documents were with the Punjab Archives, while some photographs were provided by Jamaat Ali Varak, the village numberedar of Bhagat Singh’s ancestral home, who have also converted Bhagat Singh’s ancestral home into a museum.
He also informed that an MoU has been signed with the Department of Tourism under which tourists interested in historical buildings and heritage will be toured here through double decker buses, besides from different countries of the world including India. Incoming Sikh pilgrims also wish to visit this place.
Bhagat Singh was born on 28 September 1907 in Banga village of Jardanwala Tehsil, he belonged to a Jat family. In 1921, he entered the National College, Lahore. Arrested in the Dussehra bomb case in Lahore in 1927, after being released on bail, he formed a party called the Youth Bharat Sabha and joined the revolutionaries.
During the meeting of the central assembly in Delhi, he threw smoke bombs along with his colleagues, he was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment, later a case was registered against him for the death of a police sergeant.
Bhagat Singh and his companions were hanged at night in the Central Jail of Lahore and fearing protests in Lahore, Bhagat Singh and his companions were cremated on the banks of Sutlej river near Ganda Singhwala border of Kasur.
