Bansi Dhar Mandir And Its Value

Bansi Dhar Mandir is situated at the end of Anarkali Bazar where it branches off to Gunpat Road. On one side it is flanked by Aibek Road opposite Qutub-ud-Din Abbok's mausoleum. This has been a huge mandir with a huge residential quarter like around the main temple which was built as a square building while the main temple tower stands in the center.

Today the mandir is in shambles the residential quarter are all but occupied by the squatters and encroachers. Its one side facing the Abboks mausoleum has been rebuild by the current occupants while various portions of the front and the inner residential quarters which may have been used by the priests and other bureaucracy of the mandir are under the occupations of at least fourteen different families who have divided their respective occupations by erecting brick walls, steel bars, fences, and sometimes even cloth curtains.

Value:

• For religious value as there are very few mandirs which are to the date present and working in Lahore.
• For Historic value as the layers of history it has this could be the only proper mandir which could be conserving to save the era when Hindus were proper citizen of Lahore and could perform their religious rights as this is also part of our law.
• For its authenticity as this is one of its kind, jain mandir being destroyed this could be another jain mandir if not being conserved.
• For the place where it stands, it’s situated in Anarkali as anarkali is one of the most famous and historical bazar of Lahore the patina it has on it. The conservation of this mandir can act as reviving or giving the glimpse of the anarakli bazar when it was used to be on it peak.

I think first all the people living in this temple should be given some other place and transferred, after that a detail study and history of the site and building is required. Once done with that it should be restored and conserved to its original value in a way that layers of old and new are readable so that present and history don’t get mix and this Mandir could either be convert into a functional mandir which could be a great welcoming hand to our minority Hindu or either it could be converted into a Hindu museum so in that way it could produce a revenue too.