Tarn Taran Sahib, Tarn Taran

History

Ranjit Singh and Nau Nihal Singh

Maharaja Ranjit Singh had the steps on the two sides of the sarovar, formerly left unfinished by Budh Singh and Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, completed and its circumambulatory passage paved. The Darbar Sahib was also reconstructed. Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his grandson, Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh, donated large quantities of gold to have the exterior plated with the metal, but the work made little progress in the troubled times that followed Ranjit Singh's death. It was in the last quarter of the nineteenth century that part of the exterior was covered with goldleaf by Sant Sham Singh, of Amritsar. Only one of the four towers planned by Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh for the four corners of the tank was erected during this time. Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh's orders, the town of Tarn Taran was enclosed by a wall. A few other shrines, such as the Mahji Sahib, the Akal Bunga and the Guru ka Khuh, were developed and several bungas added.

Tarn Taran and the British Raj

After the annexation of the Punjab to the British dominions, the management of the shrines at Tarn Taran, along with those at Amritsar, was entrusted to a sarbarah, or manager, appointed by the deputy commissioner of Amritsar. The role of the manager was, however, confined to general supervision, the priests being autonomous in the conduct of religious affairs. They divided the offerings among themselves and gradually appropriated most of the lands endowed to the Darbar Sahib during Sikh rule. They neglected their religious duties and cared little for the sanctity of the holy shrines and the sarovar. The traditional monthly congregation on every amavasya day, the last day of the dark half of the month, was reduced to a small carnival. Reforms introduced by the Singh Sabha, Tarn Taran, established in 1885, were disapproved and resisted by the clergy. Efforts of the Khalsa Diwan Majha and the Central Majha Khalsa Diwan to cleanse the administration met with only partial successl

Gurdwara Reform Movement

As the Gurdwara reform movement got under way, the control of the sacred shrines passed to a representative body of the Sikhs, the Shiromam Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, on 27 January 1921. A leper asylum established by Guru Arjan Dev (it was thought that minerals in the water were helpful in treating Leprosy), but completely ignored by the clergy after the abrogation of Sikh sovereignty, was taken over in 1858 by Christian missionaries.

Tourism

Visitor attractions in and around Tarn Taran Sahib include: Gurdwara Beed Baba Budda Sahib, located on Chaabal - Amritsar road Gurdwara Goindwal Sahib Gurdwara Khadoor Sahib is situated in the Khadoor Sahib city in Taran Taaran Distt. Harike Wetland, home to a wide range of flora and fauna Gurdwara Dukh Niwarn Sahib, Village Thathi-Khara, Tarn Taran Haveli at jandiala