ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>TOSH&#256KH&#256N&#256</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="TOSH"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279TOSH&#256<u>KH</u>&#256N&#256, from Persian <i>tosh&#257<u>kh</u>&#257n&#257h (toshah</i> = food or provisions for journey or food articles in general+ <i><u>kh</u>&#257n&#257</i> =house, store) or tosha <u>kh</u>&#257na <i> (toshak</i> = bedding, clothing + <i><u>kh</u>&#257n&#257</i>) means in Punjabi a treasury or secured storehouse for valuables. It is now generally used for the storehouse in the Darb&#257r S&#257hib complex at Amritsar where costly items presented as offerings at the Harimandar, the Ak&#257l Ta<u>kh</u>t and the shrine of B&#257b&#257 A&#7789&#257l accumulated over the centuries, mostly during the Sikh rule in the Punjab, are normally kept under tight security. They are taken out for <i>jalau</i> or display in the shrines on special occasions such as major festivals or anniversaries. They mostly comprise gold and silver ornaments such as <i>chhabb&#257s</i> (dome-like pendants), <i>sehar&#257s</i> (fringes of pearls and gems), <i>chhatars</i> (umbrellas), <i>jh&#257lars</i> (bejewelled frills), etc. Other costly items like door leaves of the Harimandar lined with gold sheets and valuable <i>rum&#257l&#257s</i> (scarves or wrappings for Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib) are also stored in the Tosh&#257<u>kh</u>&#257n&#257. Two rare items are a richly bejewelled canopy, originally a present from the Niz&#257m of Hyder&#257b&#257d to Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh (1780-1839), who considering it too good for himself made an offering of it at the Harimandar, and a <i>chandan da chaur</i> or fly-whisk made of fibres of sandalwood prepared by a Muslim craftsman, H&#257j&#299 Muhammad Mask&#299n. He had made two such whisks, one of which he had presented at the Holy Ka'aba at Mecc&#257, and was in search of a holy place in India deserving of his offering. Guided by Bh&#257&#299 H&#299r&#257 Si&#7749gh R&#257g&#299, a well-known exponent of <i>gurmat k&#299rtan</i> (singing of sacred hymns of Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib), he offered the whisk at the Harimandar on 31 December 1925.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Tosh&#257<u>kh</u>&#257n&#257 is located on the first floor of Darshan&#299 Deo&#7771h&#299, the gateway to the Harimandar, and is guarded by employees of the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Gurdw&#257r&#257 Parbandhak Committee. The contents are properly accounted for and the records kept by the secretary of the local managing committee until, 1945, when the local committee was disbanded and the administration of the Darb&#257r S&#257hib complex was put under the direct control of the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Committee. It was the confiscation of the keys of this treasury by the British administration on 7 November 1921 that led to the keys agitation, the first direct confrontation between the government and the Ak&#257l&#299s during the Gurdw&#257r&#257 Reform movement. It ended in the restitution of the Golden Temple keys to the shrine authority on 5 January 1922. A government official came to the Darb&#257r S&#257hib complex and surrendered the keys wrapped in a red piece of cloth to B&#257b&#257 Kha&#7771ak Si&#7749gh, then president of the Shiroma&#7751&#299 Committee.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tosh&#257<u>kh</u>&#257n&#257 too was fired at by government troops during "Operation Blue Star" on the night of 5/6 June 1984. It was partly damaged by artillery shells from guns mounted on tanks. The treasury, however, remained intact except that the famous Hyder&#257b&#257d canopy was scorched by heat generated by shelling.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Madanjit Kaur, <i>The Golden Temple Past and Present</i>. Amritsar, 1983<BR> <li class="C1"> Prat&#257p Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Gurdu&#257r&#257 Sudh&#257r arth&#257t Ak&#257l&#299 Lahir</i>. Amritsar, 1975<BR> <li class="C1"> Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Tw&#257r&#299<u>kh</u> Sr&#299 Amritsar</i> [Reprint]. Amritsar, 1977<BR> <li class="C1"><i>Si&#7749gh Sabh&#257 Patr&#299k&#257 (Bh&#257&#299 S&#257hib R&#257g&#299 H&#299r&#257 Si&#7749gh Vishesh A&#7749k) </i>. Amritsar, 1979<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Major Gurmukh Si&#7749gh (Retd.)<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>