It is a building whose significance has drifted from living memory. Very few people who are still alive would remember that the majestic building that today houses the Education Department’s offices on Murree Road and the Government Girls High Secondary School in an annex was once a prison, a hospital and an orphanage during the British Raj.

The building, originally known as the Hasraat Singh Haveli, sprawls over an acre of prime real estate in the heart of modern–day Rawalpindi; from Liaquat Bagh to Committee Chowk, opposite the Shah Di Talian shrine.

Built in 1860 by a local Sikh influential, Hasraat Singh, for welfare purposes, there is no official record that can tell us much about the man except that he built the haveli in memory of his uncle. Later, many other Sikh and Hindu philanthropists also took part in the welfare project.

A plaque on the adjacent school building reads: “In the sweet memory of our revered father L. Ganesh Das Bhasin who died on July 9, 1927. By his devoted sons S.C. Bhasin and M.L. Bhasin Engineers, Rawalpindi.”

This building has had many names. After a stint as Hasraat Singh Haveli, the building came to be known as the Ram Das Hospital and was then turned into the Arya Hospital and Orphanage, until 1900. It also served as the premises of the Rawalpindi Jail for most of the last century, before being turned into local government offices. After 1947, the building temporarily housed the Holy Family Hospital and Govt Degree College, 6th Road, for a few years before both institutions got their own buildings in Satellite Town. In 1965, the govt school and education department moved into this building.

Memories of its past glory can still be found in certain areas. The building still has its guard towers and large iron gates, that were ostensibly meant to keep inmates from escaping.

Before Rawalpindi District Jail shifted to its current Adiala premises, it used to be located where Jinnah Park stands today. It is a site with a dubious privilege; former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was sent to the gallows there in 1979. The thick walls of the rooms and the lawns and courtyards in the middle of the building harken back to a different time, when construction techniques balanced form and function.

Rawalpindi Education Department Assistant Director Syed Saleem Raza told Dawn the City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) had managed to get a Rs4 million grant to restore the building to its original shape, under a World Bank programme aimed at renovating government buildings.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2015

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