Abdalians, Raise Hands

omfortably tucked in green hills north of Islamabad, Hasan Abdal is situated right on the Grand trunk Road. The town’s claims to fame are Cadet College and temple of Panja Sahib. This small and clean historic town neat is sacred for Sikhs.

Hassan Abdal is famous for its cadet college and also serves as the gateway to some most stunning sites in Pakistan. It is from here that Karakoram Highways turns towards Northern Areas. It is a convenient halting point of Grand Trunk Road (G T Road) from where one can go to places like Abbotabad and Northern Areas, Peshawar, Taxila, Wah, Rawalpindi. Coins of the Greco-Bectrians kings discovered from the adjoining tract suggest that the area was inhabited in first century B.C. Accounts of Xuan Zang, a seventh century Chinese Buddhist traveler tells us that the place was also sacred to Buddhists. However, presently the town is associated with Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion and Baba Wali Qandhari, a revered Muslim saint.

It is not clear how the town got its name but a reference is usually made to the eighteenth century Afghan conqueror, Ahmed Shah Abdali. The town has been mentioned by Mughal Emperor Jehangir in his memoirs and was frequently visited by successive Mughal Kings, on their way to Kashmir.

One has to understand it; it was wonderful during Mughal period: Romantic, beautiful and quiet. One of the significant landmark of past in Hasan Abdal is a set of greatly spread red brick buildings immediately to the west of the Grand Trunk Road. These buildings belong to the Cadet College Hasan Abdal, Pakistan’s foremost premier boarding institution. Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan inaugurated the school in 1954. The main academic block overlooks the college with a cricket ground in the centre, called the Oval. Six residential wings surround the Oval and it is always a pleasing sight to see smart young boys in uniforms walking towards their academic block. The college has always been famous for its academic results with its students bagging most of the top positions in board examinations. While Aitchison College has for a long time catered to the political leadership of the country, the establishment has come from colleges like Cadet College Hasan Abdal and Lawrence College.

One of the interesting facts regarding these colleges is the strong sense of comradeship and fraternity that prevails among the students. The boys of the Cadet College Hasan Abdal use word Abdalian with pride and pleasure. The Cadet College is surrounded by Loqat orchards, lush green fields and a gushing stream where a day with fishing rod can really be fruitful. Mr. Catchpole, the first principal of the College is also buried here.

The other claim of the town to international fame is Sikh Gurdwara (temple) known as Panja Sahib having a rock with the hand print of their religious leader Baba Guru Nanak. Twice a year, Sikh pilgrims visit this Gurdwara from all over the world. The legend has it that in 1521 AD, while passing through then deserted area on a very hot day, Guru Nanak’s companion Bhai Mardana got very thirsty. The Guru suggested that he go to the Saint Baba Wali Qandhari who lived in a hut atop a nearby hill and ask for water. The Saint refused to give water from his well. Desperate with thirst, Mardana repeated his plea three times. Finally the saint reprimanded Mardana who returned to his guru and collapsed at his feet.

The Guru asked him to pick up a stone. The disciple did as he was told, and water flowed from under the stone, while the Saint’s well dried up. The Saint then pushed a large boulder from hilltop and sent it rolling towards the Guru and Mardana. But when the boulder reached them, the Guru stretched out his hand and stopped it with his palm.