JHIVAR HERI

JHIVAR HERI, a village in Yamunanagar district of Haryana 23 km southwest of Jagadhri (30°10`N, 77″18`E), has a Sikh shrine, Gurdwara Naviri Patshahi, dedicated to Guru Tegh Bahadur. According to local tradition. Guru Tcgh Bahadur converted here a sddhu named Bhikhan Das who was proud of his ritualistic piety. Lakklu Shah Vanjara, a Sikh who owned a transport caravan, is said to have constructed a memorial platform and donated a small piece of land for a garden. In 1764, Sardar Desu Singh of Dallevali misi occupied Mustafabad and its surrounding villages. He had the platform enlarged. Sardar Ajit Singh of Ladva is said to have made a further land endowment. Since 1851 (the date of the earliest revenue records) the Gurdwara and its landed properties had been under the possession of a Sikh goldsmith family. A case for the transference of possession of the Gurdwara to the ShiromanT Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee was brought before the Gurdwara Tribunal in 1926, but it dragged on until 1937 when it was decided in favour of the Committee. Reconstruction of the building was begun in 1954. The present Gurdwara has a large hall, including the original platform, now the scat for the Guru Granth Sahib. A separate compound houses the Guru ka Larigar. The shrine is administered by a local committee. Devotees from the neighbouring villages and towns congregate on every amdvasyd, the last day of the dark half of the month, when kirtan, sermons and community meal take place. An annual fair is held on 9 and 10 Phagun (third week of February).