ONE of Ludhiana’s oldest landmark, the district courts, will make way for a shopping mall. The land is to be handed over to the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) soon. This latest project is perhaps the last in a series of moves that have severed Ludhiana’s link with its past. Contrary to popular conception, Ludhiana is not just a hosiery town and its history not limited merely to its industrial present. The district and session courts were one such old structures that dotted the city. Once the residences and Officers Mess of the British Raj, they had been neglected over the years and recently declared unsafe. Many places in Ludhiana find a mention in the Mahabharata. Some archaeological sites date to the pre-Christian era and others to the Lodhi and Sur dynasties. References to the Sikh gurus visiting the district and of the Anglo-Sikh wars can be found in history books. But there is precious little on ground now as evidence. Towards the west of the city lies the huge mound of Sunet—now a village encircled by urban population. Sunet was visited by Sir Alexander Cunningham during the course of his survey in 1878-79. Until a few years ago it yielded coins, seals and pottery. Cunningham had discovered ‘‘coins of Uttamadatta and Amoghabhuti. (and also) that the town continued to flourish during the whole period of the dominion of the Indo-Scythians, and of their successors.’’ The bricks found in this mound were later used by the Lodhis to build the fort of Ludhiana. "Ludhiana finds mention in the Mahabharata. Many of its monuments date to the Lodhi dynasty. The Anglo-Sikh wars were fought here"T.S.Talbort, author of a series of descriptive articles on Punjab districts, had said after his surveys that Ludhiana ‘‘formed a portion of the Kingdom of Magadhas; Sunet, Tihara, Macchiwara and Bahlolpur date from the Hindu period. It is said that Machhiwara is mentioned in the Mahabhatrata.’’ An Archaeologiucal Survey of India board outside Sunet is the only evidence of its rich past. Land sharks have encroached on the land. The administration has done the rest of the damage by carving out colonies in the area. The Lodhi dynasty (1451-1526) which gave Ludhiana its present name, also left its mark on the city in the shape of a massive fort built on the bank of the Satluj. Later Maharaja Ranjit Singh took possession of the fort and gave it to one of his nephews Raja Bhag Singh of Jind. The Satluj flowing between Ludhiana and Jalandhar, served as a boundary between the Satluj chiefs and the British empire. The fort was taken by the British and its present shape was given by General Ochterlony, who held the political charge at Ludhiana from 1809 to 1815. An ancient cannon and the door of a tunnel believed to have been dug under the Satluj, can still be seen in the vast, crumbling fort. During the Mughal period, a strong government was established at Sirhind to which Ludhiana and the area around it were attached as a ‘mahal’. In Machhiwara, 25 kms east of Ludhiana, Humayun fought the battle with Sikander Sur, which restored him to the throne of Delhi in 1555. But there’s not even a plaque here to tell you this. Ludhiana district, particularly the area towards its south, was also the scene of many encounters between the tenth guru of the Sikhs, Gobind Singh, and the Mughals. Ludhiana was not without an Afghan presence either. The Afghan kings who took shelter in the city after the fall of Durrani kingdom included Zaman Shah and Shah Shuja-ul-mulk. The former home of Shah Shuja-ul-mulk has been converted into the central post office. In recent times, the birthplace of freedom fighter Sukhdev has also been in want of attention. And now the district courts are ready to face the demolition axe. A few of the buildings in the court are still stately and could perhaps be conserved. But keeping Ludhiana’s record in mind, it seems a bit too optimistic.
