Ali Usman Baig : Samadhis of royal queens

Nakayain Kaur, Chand Kaur and Sahib Kaur's Samadhis

Date of Visit:- 18-08-2018

Situated within the grounds of Islamia College at Civil Lines, just southwest of the Chilla of Baba Farid Ganj Shakar, are the magnificent tombs of the royal ladies from the Sikh Empire. These tombs rest upon a sturdy 10-foot-high square platform. Originally, a staircase on the east end of the platform led up to the tomb of Maharani Nakain Kaur. Her tomb is square in structure, measuring 16 feet on each side, and crowned with a fluted dome. Though the metal finial that once adorned the dome is no longer present, doors have been installed on all four sides. Inside the tomb, at the center, there is an 18-inch-high platform measuring 3 feet by 3 feet. Resting atop this platform is the stone urn containing the ashes of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's second wife, and the mother of Kharak Singh, originally named Raj Kaur but later known as Datar Kaur. To avoid confusion with Ranjit Singh's mother, also named Raj Kaur, she changed her name. Maharaja Ranjit Singh affectionately referred to her as Mal Nakain. Datar Kaur passed away on June 20, 1838, and her tomb was constructed around the same time.

Adjacent to Nakain Kaur's tomb, to the south on the same platform, stands the tomb of Maharani Chand Kaur, wife of Kharak Singh and mother of Naunehal Singh. Like her mother-in-law's tomb, Chand Kaur's tomb is also square in shape, measuring 16 feet on each side. Small domed towers crown each of the four corners of the building, while a fluted dome similar to Nakain Kaur's adorns the center. However, unlike Nakain Kaur's tomb, this dome was never furnished with a finial, and only a metal rod could be seen protruding from the top when Kanhaiya Lal described the tombs in 1884. Chand Kaur was married Kharak Singh at the tender age of 10 in 1812. In November 1840, after the deaths of her husband and son, she claimed the throne of Lahore, holding the position for approximately two and a half months. Chand Kaur challenged Sher Singh, the second son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, asserting that her daughter-in-law, Sahib Kaur, the widow of Kanvar Naunehal Singh, was pregnant, and she would assume regency on behalf of the unborn heir to her husband's throne. However, Sher Singh garnered support from a rival faction at the court and a section of the army, and he marched upon Lahore. In July 1841, Sahib Kaur, widow of Nau Nihal Singh, gave birth to a stillborn son, thus extinguishing Chand Kaur's hopes of realizing her claims. On June 11, 1842, Chand Kaur was assassinated by her maids, who had been appointed by Dhian Singh in collaboration with Sher Singh.

Between these tombs, to the west, stands a smaller tomb belonging to Sahib Kaur, the wife of Naunehal Singh. This octagonal-shaped tomb is about half the height of the other two tombs and is crowned by a simpler, smaller dome. Naunehal Singh was married to Sahib Kaur in 1837 when he was 16 years old. Sahib Kaur passed away in 1841.