Historic landmark lost to reconstruction

Ancient Sanatan Dharam School struggles to recover enrolment after reconstruction

RAWALPINDI:

The 126-year-old Sanatan Dharam School in Mitha Khan Sadar has had its historic heritage and identity completely erased. Its name was changed, its architecture entirely replaced, and the ancient building demolished to make way for a new, modern school. Yet despite the state-of-the-art facilities, the institution has failed to attract enrolments: where once 300 girls studied here, the number has now shrunk to around 60 after the renaming and reconstruction.

Mitha Khan Sadar is a two-century-old neighbourhood dating back to the British era. Jewish families once lived here too, and the Star of David can still be seen engraved on some of the oldest buildings in the area. For decades, the original school stood as a prominent landmark on Rawalpindi's educational map. Locals affectionately called it the "Jangla School." Its corridors once echoed with the cheerful laughter of children, the sharp tap of the teacher's cane and the morning prayers recited in assembly. But the bulldozers reduced this historic legacy to rubble.

Today, the site is known as Government Shaukat Girls Elementary School. On the right side of the new compound, a small old temple still survives — silent, unassuming, yet a living testament to what once was. The red tilak on its façade quietly proclaims that this place was once home not to any single religion, community or race, but to humanity itself. No institution, officer or department made any effort to preserve it.

The school, embodying 126 years of history, lost even its name; its cultural heritage effectively buried by those responsible for its care. After the new building was constructed, the Model School from Bhosa Mandi, Saddar, was temporarily shifted here for some time.

The original school had been built by Sikhs and Hindus. Sikh, Hindu and Parsi children studied here, while Muslim students were only a handful due to the area's minimal Muslim population. The teachers too were Hindu and Sikh. Until 1947, the Sanatan Dharam School remained entirely under Sikh administration. After the creation of Pakistan, its Sikh and Hindu teachers, students and their families migrated to India, and the institution came under the control of the Education Department and the Cantonment Board.

Records show that even after independence, the school continued to operate under the name Sanatan Dharam School until 1973, when Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto nationalised all educational institutions. It was then absorbed into government control, and its decline began. In 126 years, the school was never upgraded to high-school level. Today, around 100 girls are enrolled here.

The old temple building beside the school still stands, its architecture remarkably sturdy. Spread across five kanals, the original school structure had been a beautiful blend of British and Mughal architectural styles.

A local resident, Zahid Mumtaz, recalls witnessing both the school's rise and its demolition. It was one of Rawalpindi's oldest heritage sites, yet its historical identity has been wiped away.