Gurdwara Guru Kotha, Wazirabad

Wazirabad is a leading town of Gujranwala district and Guru Kotha, the sacred place named after Guru Hargobind Ji, is located in this town on his way back from Kashmir. He stayed at the house of one of his devotees by the name of Bhai Khem Chand Ji. A Gurdwara sahib was built here later. Once it was a beautiful building but its major portion has collapsed now and premises is occupied by refugees. 13 acres of agricultural land is endowed in the name of Gurdwara. A large and beautiful water tank adds to the scenic beauty of Gurdwara. Basant Panchami and Diwali fairs used to be held regularly, Now a mini Visakhi fair is arranged by the Muslims of the town.

The Gurdwara Kotha Sahib Cheveen Patshahi in Wazirabad (Pakistan) is virtually under an assault as illegal construction is currently on just cheek-by-jowl to the gurdwara, spoiling its architectural beauty and hurting Sikh sentiments across the world.

Sikhs have often taken up the issue of better upkeep of their gurdwaras and historical places with the Pakistan government and the response has been frequently positive. It seems the community will have to now again beseech the Pakistan authorities to intervene in this matter and save the miscreants from carrying out such illegal construction.

Wazirabad is a leading tehsil town of Gujranwala district and Kotha Sahib (also known as Guru Kotha), the sacred place named after the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind Ji, is located in this town. On his way back from Kashmir, he stayed at the house of one of his devotees by the name of Bhai Khem Chand Ji. A Gurdwara Sahib was built here later. Once it was a beautiful building but its major portion has collapsed now and premises is occupied by refugees. At least 13 acres of agricultural land is endowed in the name of Gurdwara. At one stage, it was endowed with over 100 acres of land during the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. A large and beautiful water tank adds to the scenic beauty of the Gurdwara.

Its architecture is peculiar. Its three-storeys on a high plinth have similar dimension but each has a different design. The rectangular ground floor has only one entrance and no windows. The first floor has three windows on the façade; the width of the central one is three times that of the one on either side of it. The room has also a window each on the side walls. It has a dented cornice. The second floor consists of three domed rooms, the central one is slightly bigger than the others but its dome is much bigger and sits on a tower-like base. Before 1947, Basant Panchmi (Janaury-February) and Divali (October-November) used to be celebrated here.

Now a mini Vaisakhi fair is arranged by the Muslims of the town.