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Satghara

Satghara is a small town in Okara District, Punjab, Pakistan. The tomb of Baloch folk hero, Mir Chakar Khan Rind is also located at Satghara.

On the southern bank of the Ravi, it is a typical Pakistani village.
An old, sleepy and tranquil village.
Pakistani Village

Satghara lies about 80 kilometres from Lahore (20 minutes drive away from Okara) in the quiet backwaters of the Punjab. On the southern bank of the Ravi, it is a typical Pakistani village where farmers live like rustics in the face of urban attractions. Though off the beaten track, it has never been out of limelight. Besides heritage conscious travellers from all over the world, Baloch leaders and contemporary historians visit the hamlet. The reason they say is that its a “tukia nwab chrakr ki,” the last resting place of great Baloch hero Mir Chakar Rind.

If one wants to absorb the sense of history, Satghara is just the place. A monument of departed greatness the relic belongs to a celebrated hero who now rest helpless and neglected in this silent place for removed from the noisy haunts of men. In the periphery few van trees, may be as old as the relics, stand witness to the bygone era.
For Balochis the sixteenth century was a very eventful period. They fought series of wars amongst themselves. These tribal conflicts not only cussed large scale blood shed but also resulted in mass migrations to Punjab Sindh and Gujrat.

Mir Chakar Rind is considered one of the greatest Baloch heroes. He is the center of Balcohi love lore and war ballads. He lived in Sevi (modern time Sibbi) in the hills of Balochistan and became the head of Rind tribe after his father Shiahak. A natural leader and great warror, Mir Chakar Rind was a man with resolute determination. After the end of the thirty year war against Lasharies he migrated to Punjab between 1518 to 1519.
Why Chakare-e-Azam as he was known preferred to settle in central Punjab so far away from Sibi is not known. Once at Satghara, he constructed a new hamlet near an old village. He built a fortification wall around the village and watch towers in 15 squares kilometers area encircling the fort for early warning against impending dangers.

Tranquil Village

It was from this place that he refused to help Sher Shah Suri. His forces under the able command of his son Mir Shahdad, joined Humayun when after a long exile the Mughal emperor recaptured Delhi and ousted Afghan Suries in 1556. The emperor as a reward conferred a vast Jagir including Satghara (also horses and slaves) upon him. He ruled this chieftaincy till he died in 1565.

It is the tomb and fort of Mir Chakar Rind or whatever is left of them that curiously conscious and those interested in history come to see at Satghara. The fort is large. Actually the wall once encircled the entire village. Two gateways with flat bands and pointed arches still survive though badly damaged due to ravages of time. The wooden door panels have disappeared. With growth in population, the village has grown and spilled out of encircling wall long ago. Standing at a vantage point one can still feel antiquity permeating from the cluster of mud and brick houses inside the fortification wall. In some houses, one can see mythological and thematic murals of the Hindu period. On the periphery, the classical mud houses look nice.

Constructed of narrow red bricks, used in upright courses to ensure additional strength, the wall is 25 feet high and three feet thick. Some of its salient portions exist between the tomb and the first gateway. Despite the salinity and cracks creeping up the wall, the architectural feast seems to re-echo to the past memories.

Major portion of the wall and what would have been the living quarters of the family of Mir Chakar Rind have been lost. The courtyard of the tomb has shrunk due to encroachments and presently it is being used as Shamlat deh (community centre) for keeping the animals and elders to sit under the shadow of big pipal tree during lazy summer afternoons.

The followers who had accompanied Mir Chakar Rind to Satghara built the tomb after death of the hero. Today there is not a single Baloch living in the village. The neglected tomb is dilapidated and the surviving history is falling fast into decay.

The main chamber of the once majestic and imposing tomb is octagonal in plan. The roof, decorative work and plaster have vanished. Cracks have snaked in all direction on the walls. The rainy water gathers in the roofless main chamber and stays there till sun dries it. The water is destroying the foundations of the crumbling edifice, which is gradually sinking in ground. There are seven rough mud graves inside the chamber. A small tablet distinguishes the central grave. It reads: Akhari Aaramgah, MirChakar (Khan) Rind, Satghara, Okara, Munjanib Yong Baloch Welfare Society, Ravi Road, Lahore. Even the name of the great hero on the tablet is not written correctly - having word Khan inserted quite unnecessarily. Similarly, the large plaque placed by the Archaeology Department needs improvement.

The tomb was desecrated and its roof demolished by Maharaja Ranjit Singh who, on his way to Multan to fight against Nawab Muzafar, had stayed in Satghara about 150 years ago. It has never been repaired ever since.