1. Nanak …A Tiller till Today
Sometimes history plays truant…..as I am sure it has done with many of us on this count. I for one plead guilty, so will many others I am sure.
For the longest time I believed that Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the unspoken benefactor of vast amount of estates to Nankana Sahib as a tribute to his Guru. There are documents dating back to 1930 AD that the Nankana Sahib Gurudwara owned around 18000 acres of land, but there was no indication as to whence they came.
A casual reference in passing by a friend indicated that there was more to it than the logical assumptions I had made, and he said they were in all probability misplaced in totality……That was a lead worth following, where it would lead to was a surprise I least expected….
Bits and bobs of information laid sequentially was pointing towards Rai Bular…the benevolent ‘Bhatti Sardar’ of Rai Bhoi di Talwandi but it was authenticated only when I happened to get a referral on the an article by Dr. Harpal Singh, published in S. G. P. C’s December 2003 volume of Gurmat Parkash. It was titled ‘Kohe´-Noor’s appraiser, Rai Bular, Khan Sahib’. This was a pleasant surprise as the dignity in the persona of Rai Bular has always impressed me.
The why and wherefore were still an unraveled mystery, at least for me. There was a cloud of exciting uncertainty and I was looking forward to see what the records held….and they were very clear in all terms of reference. As per these historical revenue records, now in possession of the family, Rai Bular …..The ‘ Bhatti Sardar’ of Rai Bhoi di Talwandi with many villages under him owned around 1500 ‘murabas’…..for those who may not have heard this revenue term of bygone century…. A murabba is made up of 25 acres .Rai Bular chose to bestow half of the lands which he owned towards Nanak’s ordained divine task. This was a gift from his heart in appreciation of the divinity he could see in Guru Nanak, even when he was a little boy. On the other hand, it is ironic that Mehta Kalu, Nanaks father was in oblivion and was unable to see the extraordinary in his son.
This tribute of 757 marabbas amounted to 18,750 acres of the most fertile acreage in the area. Perhaps some time later Rai Bular himself quantified the division of the estate he bequeathed.
Records show he gave:
247 marabbas of land to ………Nanak's birth-place (Janam Asthan), along with an annual jagir (stipend) of Rs 9996
220 marabbas for ……………….Gurdwara (Bal Lila) place where Nanak played as a child; an annual jagir of Rs 31.
290 marabbas for………………. the Gurdwara Mal Sahib and an annual grant of Rs 50
Time never stops and just over half a millennium has passed by since the Guru Nanak, nonetheless posterity still stands witness, for even today land registry records show that Guru Nanak is the tiller of these Marabbas.
Part 2. The Untold Story…… Mere Sahiba, Kaun Jaanei Gun Tere
My last two stories were pertinent to the life and times at Rai Bhoi di Talwandi and all the more pertinent to us it happens to be the place of birth of Guru Nanak. Blessed was this land on which he walked and blessed were its people……. For Rai Bular Bhatti and generations of Bhattis he is revered as a father.’
However aberrations happen…..
……. So, let’s go back to the point where I heard about a behavioral anomaly as given in the account of Dr Harpal Singh. It seems he was on a visit to Nankana Sahib about six or so years ago, and after the ceremonials and ‘langar’ at Gurudwara sahib he took time out to walk around and garner some local flavor and perhaps get some interesting sound bytes…..and that he sure did.
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| Dr Harpal Singh Professor & Head |
Perchance he met a devout old man, six ft six inch tall, an imposing personality in a traditional Muslim Punjabi suit and customary turban on his august head… about 70 or so in years. He was a building contractor…. True to form his welcome was effusive and warm; he stopped all that he was doing to give his undivided attention to his fellow Punjabi brethren from across the border…..
Talks in Nankana Sahib forever veer towards ‘Hazrat Baba Nanak’, and the ‘Thekedar Sahib’ just could not stop talking of ‘him’ and his divine aura. It is from him that Dr Singh learnt that his ancestor ‘Bhatti Sardar’ was Rai Bular, a devoted disciple of Baba Nanak, who had bequeathed half his estate as he could discern a Kohe´-Noor in Nanak even as child. But that was a long time ago, and five centuries can mask perception.
Bhatti clan went through one such aberration in 1988 ….Possibly the devil was at work again 22 years ago in Nankana Sahib…..A seed of discontentment was planted in minds of a few of the clan, ‘we are the owners, we hold have been holding the land for generations and farm the land but the title is not in our names’, they deliberated, first individually and later collectively. The decision was taken to address a plea to the courts, though in retrospect the righteous Thekedar felt it was hasty and faulty move.
Petition was filed at District courts Sheikhupur …..The gist of it was to declare that their grand old ancestor had turned senile in his old age. On the basis of above it was their plea to set aside the centuries old decision of Rai Bular in the bestowing the rights of half of his landed property to a Fakir called Nanak be, since, as per inheritance laws, they are the rightful owners. Moreover the clan men felt that as they manage and farm the land, its title should be transferred to our names as well.
Like all civil court cases, this took years…… Summons, records search and legal arguments, all of it took four year. …so what if the defendant was Baba Nanak .On the judgment date, the verdict was against the Bhatti clan. The title cannot be transferred and the deed remains in the name of Nanak ,to be mutated to legal heir only.
Next…. was progression to Lahore High court, and it took three years. ….Once again lower court verdict was upheld…... the title deed was not transferable.Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=769
The clan was caught off balance by the verdict but was not ready to give up the claim…… at least not as yet. They went on to file an appeal in the Supreme Court at Islamabad. Another three years were lost in hearings and arguments and depositions. Judgment time again, and after much consideration the Hon’ble Chief Justices invited representatives of the clansmen to the chambers ….this was a conditional offer without the presence legal aides, It was the Judges contemplated decision that filing the suit was not an appropriate action and lacked moral principles.
A 30 day reprieve was given by The Supreme Court of Pakistan for the final hearing.
Confronted with the reality of the reproach all villages held meetings individually and finally a general combined meeting of all village heads was held. Eight elected representatives were assigned to talk to the judges.
The court was adjourned for an hour and the closed door meeting began in the chambers. The Justices were very clear that the filing of petition had been a monumental blunder of divine proportion….. and in the bargain the legacy of a pious ancestor had been dishonored by suggesting that he was senile, that apart desecration of the eternal blessings, the very blessing of the ‘Fakir’ whom they had sued to regain the title deed.
Hearing this some of the kinfolk had begun to feel deeply mortified, the building ‘Thekedar’ was able to shed light on this, as he was there himself. .……but the Justices were not done and over with…….They went on to explain in great detail the logic of their line of judgment…… “Since Rai Bular gave only half his estate as grant and kept the other half….it goes to show that at the very least he was partially sane in mind …to be exact he was half normal. But the Fakir ……That is Baba Nanak in whose name Rai Bular executed half of his estates title deed had in all probability lost all his mental faculties and rationale, since he never even bothered to give a second thought to this prime endowment, nor did any his heir ever try to take possession of the land”.
Such is the way of life the judges philosophically explained….. ‘Nobody’s name will remain, forever neither yours nor ours….. The fortunate few who keep faith in name of God…the eternal ‘Naam’ and Truth will remain’.
The eight men who came in to re-present the case on behalf of the clan sat dumbfounded……and were chastised for perpetuating sacrilege for ten to twelve years and making a mockery out of sentiments . Did nobody advise you not to sin? It would have been better if you hadn’t filed the suit. Though they were not obligated to accept, as it was an out of court suggestion ,they were advised to withdraw the appeal. If the appeal was not withdrawn the hon’ble Courts would deliver the ruling.
What have we done?.... the delegation of representatives thought. Now they found the reproaches of their inner soul much louder, and were unable to meet each other’s eye… silence hung so heavy, that abrading of chairs as they were pushed back was enough to jar the nerves. Still contemplative they stepped out to meet the warmth of the setting sun and the waiting kinfolk……and the gist of the riot act read by the judges was given…..
Did they have a choice...No, The verdict was preordained. All that was left to decide was to withdraw the appeal or get ready to receive a judgment against it.
Till date the devout Thekedar remains shaken by the enormity of the irreverence they had almost committed.
‘Sardar Ji we were saved’, he reiterated…"Sanoo tan Babe ne bachcha leya…. If the appeal weren’t withdrawn we would have lost the appeal, this world and the faith". It is their firm belief that it was ‘Hazrat Baba Nanak’ who in the course of the appeal conveyed through the Supreme Court the corrective path…
He saved our name."
So dear friends even today, as per land registry records, Guru Nanak farms these Marabbas….he is still the tiller…the records remain unchanged.
I would appreciate your inputs/comments to further explore the veracity of this narrative…..please.