Old Jail located in Bassi Pathana should be given the status of heritage monument: United Sikhs 

Ludhiana, October 11, 2025: The United Sikhs organization has strongly demanded from the Punjab government that the celebration of the 350th martyrdom anniversary of the ninth Guru, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, can be meaningful only if the ancient and historical monuments related to the life of the Guru Sahib are properly preserved and given the status of heritage monuments. 

Amritpal Singh, Director Punjab United Sikhs, while drawing the attention of the Punjab government to the ancient jail built during the Mughal period located at Bassi Pathana (Fatehgarh Sahib district), said that according to the research of various prominent Sikh historians, when the ninth Guru, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, after listening to the plea of the Kashmiri Pandits, left Sri Anandpur Sahib with five of his Sikhs to meet the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb of the Delhi throne, on the way, Noor Mohammad Khan Mirza, the inspector of the Ropar police post, stopped at village Malikpur. Information provided by the residents of Ranghar on this basis, he was arrested along with his companions from Pargana Ghanola in Sammat 1732 and presented before the then Governor of Punjab in Sirhind. He ordered to imprison Guru Sahib and his companions in the aforementioned historical jail of Bassi Pathans. Of course, later, Emperor Aurangzeb, after receiving information about Guru Sahib's arrest, relented and allowed him to reach Delhi in a proper manner. During his conversation, he said that according to the research of historians, this Khat-u-Khitabat took about four months, depending on the speed of the resources of that time. Thus, the ninth Guru, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, along with his companions, remained imprisoned in the prison of Bassi Pathana Jail for 4 months and performed Bandagi of Akal Purakh here. After his release, he went towards Delhi via Agra, escorting the Sangat via Bahadur Garh and Patiala. So, the historical importance of Bassi Pathana Jail goes even further and regarding this issue, in the past, the Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, late Bir Davinder Singh, had raised his voice loudly and demanded to preserve the historical jail of Bassi Pathana as a heritage and the entire possession of the ancient jail was obtained.
Due to the Punjab government's refusal to preserve the ancient jail building of Bassi Pathana as a historical heritage, the buildings of the said jail are turning into ruins and are gradually crumbling. Seeing which, the devotees of the Guru become very emotional. Amritpal Singh said that today it is necessary for the Punjab Government and the Shiromani Committee to come forward to preserve their heritage and, while paying their true respect and homage to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, to convert the old jail of Bassi Pathana in the memory of Guru Sahib and give it the status of a heritage building and get the old jail building taken care of by the Archaeological Department so that the old historical appearance of the jail buildings can be preserved. He also demanded from the Punjab government that the Punjab Tourism Department should make efforts to bring Bassi Pathana on the heritage tourism map so that the devotees and tourists coming from all over the country and abroad can connect with their history by visiting their heritage buildings.