Late last year, the internal wall of Dhyan Singh Haveli, also known as Asif Jah Haveli, collapsed at the Government Fatima Jinnah College for Women, in Chuna Mandi, Lahore, reportedly due to cracks in its structure.

“We got lucky that when the wall fell, the college was closed because of the Ashura holiday,” says the principal of the college, Dr Bushra Samina, while recalling what could have been a worse disaster.

Apparently, there are two more rooms in the haveli on the verge of a collapse, and they have been declared a prohibited territory.

The 400-year-old building of Dhyan Singh Haveli has served the Mughals, the Sikhs, the British and the Americans before it was turned into a college inside the Walled City of Lahore. Before its current status, Dhyan Singh Haveli was used as the first building for Government College Lahore (now GCU), albeit for a handful of students, with Hungarian Orientalist Dr Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner starting January 1, 1864, as its principal. (Source: Tahir Kamran and Ian Talbot’s Lahore in the Time of the Raj)

After the creation of Pakistan, the haveli served as a torture cell for the CIA, according to multiple sources, and finally, it was given the status of a girls’ college in 1986 by the then chief minister of Punjab, Mian Nawaz Sharif. Since then there have been a few installations and renovations in the cluster of havelis.

The main building associated with the haveli has a structure peculiar to most Mughal-era buildings, with bastions and intricate brickwork. Parts of it are glaring examples of Sikh architecture, with the palki (structure to place the Guru Granth Sahib) and frescoes depicting Sikh heritage. There is a bath house, sheesham-wood doors ribbed with metallic plates, beautiful cupola-ed jharokas, a huge entrance unusual to even Mughal-era havelis, giving it the look of a small fortress. Sadly, the place has been in shambles, with broken, patched and bare walls whose paint has peeled off, giving the building a forlorn look.

Human existence keeps historical buildings “alive”; if they are abandoned, or locked up, they become ruins.

The building is associated with Asif Jah, the half-brother of Empress Nur Jehan and the father of Mumtaz Mahal. Jah was elevated to the position of prime minister in 1625 during the reign of Emperor Jehangir, however he played an active role in thwarting Nur Jehan’s plans to rule over the empire by offering his loyalty to her step son, Shah Jahan, also Jah’s son-in-law. (Asif Jah, also known as Asif Khan, has a humble tomb built in his memory within the premises of the Tomb of Jehangir in Shahdara, close to the tomb of Nur Jehan. His haveli housed both Jehangir and Dhyan Singh for a few days, as guests adding to its grandiose history. Akbar too, is recorded in history to have stayed there, while Lahore Fort was being built.)

When the Sikh confederates took over Lahore, only to be merged for a larger Punjab that would be ruled by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a number of havelis belonging to the Mughal courtiers or elite were allotted to the new courtiers of the Maharaja’s durbar. “The haveli, which popularly goes by the name of Dhyan Singh, is actually the abode of Khushaal Singh, the deoridaar (custodian) of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s residence, since the actual haveli of Dhyan Singh is located in the Ghalla Mandi (Grain Market) of Lahore, near the Heera Mandi locality, so named after Heera Singh, son of Dhyan Singh,” comments Fakir Saifuddin of the Fakir Khana Haveli Museum, whose ancestors, the three Fakir brothers, were among the top courtiers of Raja Ranjit Singh.

There could be a new college, or the haveli could be used for touristy purposes; it’s just a matter of concerned authorities taking due interest. What is of prime importance is that the restoration, repair work and upkeep must be faultless. In case of an unfortunate accident, it should not matter which department was in charge.

“It is very important to correct this fact,” he insists.

Saifuddin himself lives in his ancestral building, initially named Todar Mal Haveli, the property of Todar Mal Khatri, the minister of finance for Emperor Akbar. Mal’s haveli later became Fakir Khana in the name of his ancestors who were given the haveli by Raja Ranjit Singh.

The official website of the Government Fatima Jinnah College for Women mentions the haveli as available for rent for corporate functions. When asked about the building being used for commercial purposes, Tania Qureshi, the spokesperson for the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA), says that as long as the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and proper guidelines for maintenance and regular inspections are carried out, there is “no harm in using these heritage sites for schools or any other purpose.”

Since the haveli as well as Haveli Naunehal Singh and the actual Dhyan Singh Haveli inside the Grain Market locality have all been used as schools, they are affiliated with the Education Department. However, as Qureshi puts it, “The maintenance and upkeep budget is allocated, and they need to get the stabilities of the structures and condition checked, and involve experts in the process.”

About the allocation of funds, a college employee says, on condition of anonymity, “The money goes to the building maintenance fund, and only the grounds are given to the companies who rent the building. The pavilions, or verandahs, of the haveli are only a backdrop for their photography!”

In its defence, Dr Samina says that the money is the only way to maintain the building and the terms and conditions for the renting as well as the expenditure are regulated by the Higher Education Department. “The college serves the purpose of giving the girls from rigid and backward families access to education.”

Responding to a question whether the haveli should be ‘retired’ after all these years of service, she says that doing so wouldn’t affect the academic or non-academic staff since they can find jobs elsewhere; it’s the students who would suffer.

Saifuddin is also of the view that human existence keeps historical buildings “alive”; if they are abandoned, or locked up, they become ruins. He cites the examples of the Fort and Badshahi Masjid that have stood the test of time, vis-à-vis the tombs such as that of Ali Mardan and Buddhu ka Awa in Lahore which have been forgotten and turned into ruins.

He also recalls some havelis on the Gowalmandi Food Street which have been turned into restaurants and are faring very well in terms of attracting domestic and foreign guests.

The college authorities have been assured of cooperation by Secretary, Higher Education, Government of Punjab, Sajid Zafar Dall. The Punjab Archaeology Department and the WCLA are also said to have visited the site and started documentation about the restoration of the collapsed wall as well as repair work in the rest of the haveli which is associated with both Dhyan and Khushaal Singh.

It also points to a dearth of research and records, putting a question mark on the existing heritage, such as the tombs of Anarkali and Zaib un Nisa, or those at Kot Khwaja Saeed whose origins are confusing and doubtful. These buildings are precious but, as Tania Qureshi says, have been shut away from the public eye, hence there is no touristic value left to

them. “The government should open up these places once in a month or a week, maybe on Sundays, for the public, while following proper procedures and heritage guidelines.”

There could be a new college, or the haveli could be used for touristy purposes; it’s just a matter of concerned authorities taking due interest. What is of prime importance is that the restoration, repair work and upkeep must be faultless. In case of an unfortunate accident, it should not matter which department was in charge.

The writer is the author of two books of fiction, including Unfettered Wings: Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary Women