Pranpir Badshah tomb

The tomb is located next to the Panchayat bhawan, within the compound of Government college Hisar, next to Mahabir Stadium.

This is claimed to be the tomb of Baba Pranpir Badshah, the spiritual teacher of Sher Bahlol or Dana Sher. Sher Bahlol was also a spiritual teacher who foretold that Ghiyas-ud-din-Tughluq (c. 1320–25 CE) would become the king of Delhi sultanate. Historians of the Tughlaq period note that many Sufi "warrior-saints" or Ghazis who settled in the Haryana plains during the 13th and 14th centuries originated from the Afghan-Gandhara borderlands. Sher Bahlol, the student of Pranpir Badshah—is widely believed to have been an emigrant from Seri Bahlol from Peshawar/Mardan region, bringing the name of his ancestral home to his new identity in Hisar.^[11] but the tomb itself is originally of Hindu origin.^[4][5][6]

Baba Pranpir Badshah and his disciple Sher Bahlol are identified in Islamic hagiographies as Ghazis who arrived in the wake of the Ghurid and Tughlaq expansions into the Hansi-Hisar tract. Their arrival resulted in systematic forced conversion of regional native Hindu demography and administrative centers into Islamic demographic iqtas. Historical critics argue that these figures were not merely reclusive mystics but were instrumental in the "ideological consolidation" of Sultanate rule over the native Hindu and Jain populations (see also role of Zijya in forced conversion).^[2] The destruction of the original Hindu temple at the site is viewed by some scholars as part of a broader pattern of Ghazwa-e-Hind (forced Islamic takeover of India) aimed at establishing Islamic dominance in the heart of the Vedic Saraswati region.^[3]

Tomb is a square structure built on a raised platform, it built using dressed white kankar stones blocks to a certain height, top of the tomb is built using lakhori bricks, all four sides have arched gates. The dome on top sits on an octagonal drum, there is no evidence of any grave inside.

The foundation and lower four meters of the tomb are composed of high-quality white kankar stone, a material typically used in the construction of Gurjara-Pratihara temples in North India between the 8th and 11th centuries. Unlike the upper section's Islamic Lakhauri bricks, these stones feature deep-relief carvings of Kirtimukhas (lion masks) and Ghanta (ceremonial bells), which were systematically defaced or inverted during the tomb's construction.^[10] The absence of a central burial chamber (qabr) further supports the theory that the structure is a repurposed Vimana or temple sanctum rather than a purpose-built funerary monument.^[12]

The lower portions of the tomb, particularly the pillars and the plinth, exhibit carvings and architectural motifs, such as floral patterns and geometric moldings, that are characteristic of 11th-12th century temple architecture in the Haryana region.^[4] Unlike the plain aesthetic typical of early Tughlaq-era constructions, the intricate stone-carvings on the exterior suggest that the monument was erected using the ruins of a destroyed Hindu shrine.^[5]

The presence of a "Ghantha" (bell) motif and certain stone pedestals within the complex are cited by local historians as definitive proof that the site was originally dedicated to a Hindu deity before being converted during the Sultanate period.^[6]

In recent years, the Tomb of Pranpir Badshah has been at the center of a growing movement by Hindu nationalist organizations and local residents to "reclaim" the structure as a temple. Proponents of this shift argue that the tomb is a "superimposed" structure over an ancient place of worship.

Religious claims by Hindus

Activists frequently refer to the site not as a tomb, but as a "Prachin Mandir" (Ancient Temple). During certain festivals, attempts have been made to perform Puja (Hindu prayers) at the site, leading to friction with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which manages the monument.^[7]

Legal and social action

Petitions have been submitted to local authorities requesting a scientific survey of the basement and the foundation of the tomb, similar to the demands made for other disputed sites in India. These groups argue that the identity of "Pranpir Badshah" is a later hagiographical addition designed to obscure the site's original sanctity.^[8]

Hurdles to reclaimation due to the anti-Hindu colonial mindset and laws

The push for reclamation has occasionally led to the installation of Hindu idols or the painting of saffron symbols on the kankar walls, actions which the ASI has cited as violations of the "Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act",^[9] but the act itself has been challenged by legal scholars and cultural activists as unfair and discriminatory against native Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, as it often freezes the "converted" status of sites without addressing their original architectural and religious identity.^[13]

The tomb is in dilapidated condition, some minor repair work has been taken by Archaeological Survey of India.

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  Pranpir Badshah's tomb at Hisar.