Gulyana, Gujar Khan: Hindu Temple and Sikh Heritage

Gulyana is a historic town near Gujar Khan in Punjab’s Potohar region. Its surviving Hindu temple, Sikh samadhi, traditional wells and old stone havelis preserve traces of the multi-faith community that lived here before Partition.

This article records what we saw during our visit and the local memories shared with us. Gulyana’s temple also belongs to the wider story of historic Hindu temples in Pakistan.

Table of Contents

Historical changes in Gulyana

Gulyana experienced periods of conflict and major social change over the centuries. The most profound transformation came with Partition in 1947, when its Hindu and Sikh residents left the town and many buildings changed ownership or use.

Detailed claims about attacks, destruction and casualties require documentary evidence. The personal accounts included here should therefore be understood as local oral history rather than a complete historical record.

Gulyana Town Location Map

The Gulyana town Gujar khan’s map and pics are posted below for your reference.

As you can see it is not very far from Gujar Khan that is itself very close to Rawalpindi

Local residents remember Gulyana as a mixed Hindu, Sikh and Muslim settlement before 1947. Hindu and Sikh families were prominent in the town’s commercial life and left behind temples, wells, havelis and other community buildings.

Names including Bakshi Tek Chand, Dewan Prithvi Chand Dutt, Bakshi Moti Ram and Tara Singh survive in local memory. However, family histories, property ownership and individual experiences require verification through land records, gazetteers and family archives.

Landowners were guaranteed protection from the military’s presence in Gujar Khan from the North and a rivulet from the south. This land produced sheer gold and wealthy Sikhs and Hindus lived like kings in mansions make of stone, several storeys high.

They built temples, dug up wells for the 30-50 Kanal holdings each, and distributed these lands amongst their permanent serfs.

These prominent families did treat their serfs with respect and gave them a good share of the crop – what do you expect from absentee landlords.

Sikh Timber Business of Gulyana

The Sikh had a timber business. Logs from Kashmir valley were dumped into the Jhelum River and recovered downstream near Jhelum city to be sold at Gujar Khan.

Hindu Money Lenders of Gulyana

The Hindus were mostly traders, moneylenders, and retailers.

Muslims were mostly illiterate and poor and were destined to stay that way considering the only quality boarding school in nearby Gujar Khan had 95% non-muslim attendance.

Gulyana Town during partition riots

During the 1947 riots, one Sikh Bali Singh and one Hindu Lady Banto were killed in the riots but the rest were whisked away with their gold, in the safety of Gorkha soldiers. The Muslim riot crowd burnt to the ground several symbols of oppression and got rich in the process, during the looting.

One Hindu tehsildar had the magistrate’s powers to jail, someone, for 6 months in the local Gulyana Police station which is still the same building.

British Hurriedly Left

When the British left suddenly in 1947, the carefully crafted social experiment in native subjugation came crumbling down within days.

Community of Gulyana

Besides the killings, one 100 years old resident of Gulyana tells me:-

“the Hindus and Sikhs were very friendly towards the Muslims, their women played around with the boys, molvi were not trouble makers then; they cared about their serfs and neighbors, built schools, hospitals, and wells for the general public. No Muslim was allowed into their kitchen, however. Balraj, Sita, Beera, Ramu Shikari, Gujrati, Peecha Singh, Mangat Singh, Jawals Singh, Raab Singh, Gurdyal, were the well-known Hindus and Labbu, Gurra, Jagdev, Santa, Paacha, Chatru were the known Sikhs of the time. One Tek Chand Never left for India and embraced Islam. His wife and three sons left for India. Tek Chand married a Muslim lady and had seven children. They are all in poverty now. Several of the old mansions, one Dharamsala, one temple, and several boulis (watering holes) have been lost to time.”

Tour of Gulyana Town Gujar Khan

We reached Gulyana town on one pleasant summer morning. All we could see were lush green fields spread as far as eyed could see.

The surrounding farms around Gulyana were refreshing. The old-styled wells, Sikh Samadhi, Hindu temple, and 100-year-old Gujarati mansion still survive.

Hindu Temple of Gulyana

The surviving Hindu temple is one of Gulyana’s most important heritage buildings. Inside the sanctum, I saw painted figures associated with both Hindu and Sikh traditions, including Hanuman, Krishna, Sita, Guru Nanak, Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana.

This combination reflects the closely connected religious and artistic traditions once found across the Potohar region. The paintings deserve professional documentation before further deterioration occurs.

Similar shared religious imagery survives at Bedi Mahal in Kallar Syedan. Readers can also explore the wider guide to Hindu temples in Pakistan.

Ugahaun Dam

Pakistan government has built a dam 5 km upstream, called the Ugahaun; it’s a lovely place to fish and boat around.

The Union Council in 1947 had more financial powers than it does today.

Is Gulyana worth visiting?

Gulyana is worth visiting for its surviving temple paintings, Sikh samadhi, traditional wells and historic havelis. These structures preserve fragments of a shared Potohar heritage that is rapidly disappearing.

Visitors should seek permission before entering religious or privately occupied buildings and avoid touching vulnerable paintings. For a broader regional journey, continue to Bedi Mahal in Kallar Syedan or explore more historic Hindu temples across Pakistan.

Other interesting places in the Potohar region are:

Rawat fort and Mankial Stupa.

Also, enjoy the video of this town.