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| Kurrah Khan sans carriage From Jangveer Singh Tribune News Service PATIALA: A cannon which has been made out of the utensils of Punjabis, was used to subjugate them and subsequently saw the rise and fall of Sikh power, is lying forgotten in the tercentenary year of the birth of the Khalsa in the complex of Quila Mubarak here. The cannon, named Kurrah Khan, lies on a cemented stand. Its original carriage is lying in a corner. Shorn off its carriage it seems an ordinary piece of artillery. There is no sign boards to tell its history. While Kurrah Khan is written in English on the cannon. It also has Urdu and Gurmukhi inscriptions. The cannon and two others came into being after Ahmed Shah Abdali melted utensils collected in a raid in the early 18th century. Of the three Kurrah Khan is in the country. Of the other two Zam Zam is in the Lahore fort and the third sank into the Ravi during transportation during Abdali s time. The Kurrah Khan was left at Sirhind by Ahmed Shah Abdali Sirhind had been made a subedari by him. Subsequently it came into the possession of the founder of the Patiala royal house Baba Ala Singh following the plundering of Sirhind to take revenge for the Ghallughara of Kupkalan in 1726. Kurrah Khan was part of Baba Ala's war booty. Baba Ala's grandson Maharaja Amar Singh used it to-expand the Sikh empire. Ranjit Singh acquired the cannon for bringing about rapproachment between Maharaja Sahib Singh and his wife Mai Aas Kaur. Ranjit Singh used the cannon in the conquering Multan, Dera Ismail Khan and Dera Qazi Khan. After Ranjit Singh s death the cannon was used in the Anglo-Sikh wars. It was won by the British in the battle of Mudki. The British took it to Delhi. It was returned to Patiala after the 1857 war of Independence. The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Capt R.S. Randhawa, who had earlier headed a project to renovate the quila, said the cannon could be restored to its original carriage with little effort. Captain Randhawa also pleaded for placing the cannon at an appropriate place for due recognition in the year of the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Khalsa. The cannon symbolises all the Khalsa is worth militarily and must be treated as such, he added. |
