Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib (Dhubri)
Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib - This famous Gurudwara is situated in the heart of the Dhubri Town on the bank of the mighty Brahmaputra river. Guru Nanak the first Sikh Guru visited this place in 1505 and met Sri Sankardeva as the Guru traveled from Dhaka to Assam.
This historic shrine, Sri Gurdwara Guru Tegh Bahadur or Damdama Sahib at Dhubri in Assam was built in memory of the visit of Guru Nanak. Hence it has great importance for Sikh community.Guru Tegh Bahadur established this Gurdwara during his 17th century visit to the area. Sikh devotees from all over India and the world assemble in this Gurudwara every year in the month of December to mark the Martydom of Sri Guru Tegh bahadur with due solemnity and ceremony. Sikh devotees call this festival Sahidee Guru Parav.
It was during his stay in Dhubri, that the ninth Guru received the news that a son was born to him at Patna. This son was Gobind Rai who later became the most respected tenth Guru popularly known as Sri Guru Gobind Singh. He succeeded to the Guru Gaddi after the execution of his father in Chandni Chowk, Delhi by the order of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1675.
History
When Raja Ram Singh son of Mirza Raja Jai Singh was deputed by Emperor Aurangzeb to crush the revolt of King Chakradhwaj Singh of Kamrup (Assam), he called on Guru Tegh Bahadur at Dhaka and requested that he accompany him on his expedition to Assam. His request was accepted by the Guru who had planned to visit Assam in order to revive the religious centre built to commemorate the visit of Guru Nanak in the land of magic and beauty. Together Raja Ram Singh and Guruji, marched along the river Dhubri and Brahmaputra and reached Kamrup early in February, 1669 A.D. Guru Tegh Bahadur camped at Dhubri while Raja Ram Singh camped at Rangamati. The Imperial Army was confident of its strength but was not as yet sure whether the holyman with them would be able to destroy the evil effects of magic and witchcraft of the Assamese. Just across the river the Assamese were unnerved by the superior numbers of the Imperial Army but they were confident that the supernatural powers of their magicians backed by their tactful resistance would keep the attackers at bay.
The magic Assamese women with their tantric paraphernalia began reciting mantras of destruction in their encampment directly across the river of the camp of Guru Tegh Bahadur. But all their magic failed to harm the great Guru. The magicians were too confident about their ability to destory any human being. From across the river they hurled a 26 feet long stone, which came arcing across the sky like a missile and struck the ground, near Guruji's camp, so hard that nearly half of its length was embedded in the ground. It can still be seen in the same position.
When their missile of stone failed to harm the holy benefactor, the magician next flung a tree, which fell very close to the Guru's camp without causing injury to any one. Then, as Guru Tegh Bahadur took his bow and aimed an arrow at the altar of magic all of their magic and sorcery came to a sudden end. The magicians realised that superior powers had completely deprived them of their magical strengths and stilled their willpower, so they crossed the river to the Guru's camp and begged forgiveness for having offended him. They told him that they were fighting only to repell the foreigners who had come to enslave them.
Guru Tegh Bahadur assured the magicians that he would work to bring peace between Raja Ram Singh and the Ahom King, for which, a change of heart was necessary on both sides. Consequently, he advised Raja Ram Singh to achieve his rulers objectives through peaceful negotiations and not to fight unless he was attacked. The rest of the story is a part of the history as to how he succeeded in patching up the differences between the Imperial Commander Raja Ram Singh and the Ahom King of Assam. The grateful Ahom King invited Guruji to the Kamakhya shrine, where he was honoured with great respect.
The Peace Mound of Dhubri
The happy occasion of the peace settlement brought about by the blessings of Guru Tegh Bahadur was celebrated by a joint homage to the shrine of Guru Nanak by both the Mughal and the Ahom armies. The mound of peace of Dhubri was erected with the red earth carried by the soldiers of both the armies on their shields. This permanent monument to Guru Tegh Bahadur's a successful peace efforts stands at Dhubri to this day. Pilgrims from all over India visit Dhubri to pay homage at Gurdwara Damdama Sahib. They also visit the mound of peace constructed by Hindus an& Muslims soldiers of the two armies.
Janamsakhis are unanimous about Guru Nanak Dev's visit to Kamrup (Assam) but no sangat or historical shrine dedicated to him survives.
Guru Tegh Bahadur visited Assam in 1670. He had accompanied Raja Ram Singh of Amber who had been sent by Aurangzeb to quell a rebellion by the Ahom chief Chakradhwaj. Assam was a difficult country to operate in and for Raja Ram Singh it was a task assigned to him as a punishment because it was from his custody that Shiva Ji had escaped a few years earlier. Guru Tegh Bahadur's presence, therefore, was a moral booster to him and his troop's morale. The Guru's role was, however, more active than a mere presence. A pacifist that he was, he helped conclude a no-war agreement between the two sides. As a monument to peace, a high mound as raised to which every soldier contributed five shieldfuls of earth. This mound standing on the right bank of Brahmpra River at Dhubri, a sub-divisional town in Goalpara district of Assam, came to be treated as a sacred shrine. A Gurdwara was also built near it on the spot where Guru Tegh Bahadur had stayed and negotiated peace. It was looked after by Udasi priests until it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1896-97 circa. Bhai Ram Singh, an officiant of the shrine, reconstructed a room in 1901. The mahants also possessed a farman (fiat) of a Mughal emperor pertaining to a land grant to the shrine. In 1902-03, Mahant Jai Singh took this Farman with him when he went to Punjab to raise funds through donations for the Gurdwara building under reconstruction. Unfortunately Bhai Jai Singh died somewhere near Amritsar, and the Farman was lost.
- Gurdwara Thara Sahib or Damdama Sahib - In 1966, a Gurdwara in a small octagonal hut with sloping roof was also set up on top of the mound. It is called Thara Sahib or Damdama Sahib.
- Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur - The other shrine called Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur is in a square hall with wooden walls and sloping roof. Further development of the Gurdwara is afoot under the Sikh Pratinidhi Board Eastern Zone and the local managing committee.
For reaching Dhubri rail route via Katihar and Siliguri convenient. One has to change at Fakiragram junction for Dhubri, a distance of about 70 kilometres by rail or road.
