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Nankana Sahib is the sacred place where Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikh religion was born on 14^th April 1469. Before the birth of the Guru, Nankana Sahib was known as Raipur and later on as Rai-Bhoi-di-Talwandi. Nankana Sahib is situated at a distance of about 75 kilometers on the west of Lahore. The emergence of Guru Nanak Dev at a time of utter chaos and confusion in Punjab was like an amazing and wondrous beam of light that pierced the darkness and removed the scales from the peoples’ eyes. The Guru spent the first 35 years of his life in Nankana Sahib and hereafter went to Sultanpur.

For a pretty long time this holy place remained in the routine and normal form. In the year 1613, Shri Guru Hargobind ji, the sixth Guru in succession, visited the Janam Asthan—Nankana Sahib and entrusted the responsibility of looking after the holy place to Almast, an ardent Udasi—the follower of Guru Nanak’s son Baba Sri Chand. Since then the Udasis looked after the Janam Asthan for a long time.

At the behest of Baba Sahib Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave 700 acres as religious endowment to this holy shrine. The Maharaja also got a majestic and magnificent building constructed. But the holy shrine continued to be maintained by the Udasis. Across the years the Udasi Mahants began treating the holy place as their personal property and indulged in lavish, luscious and luxurious life. To get this holiest of the holy places freed from the hands of these renegade apostates, the Gurdwara Prabandh Sudhar Movement was launched. The very first peaceful Jatha that entered the Gurdwara Janam Asthan was ruthlessly hacked by the avaricious mercenaries of Mahant Narain Dass. Several members of this great jatha were tied and burnt alive.

This ghastly and gruesome incident ablazed the Gurdwara Reform Movement and the Mahants had to hand over the holy shrines to the Sikh Sangats. But unfortunately because of partition, the Sikhs not only lost many lives but their most loved and revered shrine, Nankana Sahib, and many other blessed shrines went to Pakistan. Now the mention of Nankana Sahib Gurdwara is a regular feature of the daily prayer of the Sikhs. At present about 30 Sikh families are residing in Nankana Sahib and daily service is regularly performed and bani is recited. On Guru Nanak’s anniversary about three thousands Sikh devotees from India and a large number from all over the world visit Nankana Sahib every year.