Steeped in history, this town in Punjab predates Indus Valley Civilisation

Verka is a prominent township, 9 km northeast of Amritsar along the Batala road. It holds a sacred place in the Sikh history due to its association with Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru. As per historical accounts and local tradition, Guru Nanak visited Verka while travelling from Nankana Sahib to Batala, the town of Guru Nanak’s in-laws. During his journey, he stopped under a ‘jand’ tree near a pond on the western side of the village. Amritsar city was yet to establish that time.

This sacred site is now commemorated by Gurdwara Nanaksar Verka. It is believed that during his stay, Guru Nanak blessed a child suffering from rickets. The child, after bathing in the pond upon the guru’s instruction, began to recover, leading to a strong belief in the healing powers of the water. This pond was later converted into a ‘sarovar’. Birji Bai, a devout Sindhi woman from Shikarpur financially supported the ‘pucca sarovar’ project in 1899 after her son recovered from rickets. The current Gurdwara building was rebuilt in 1973 and stands as a spiritual centre for the town.

A fair is organised annually on 12 chet (last week of March) to mark the day of Guru Nanak’s visit to Verka.

According to oral traditions, Verka’s history even predates the Indus Valley Civilisation, possibly going back before the era of Mohenjo-Daro. A local, Harbhajan Lal Jurangal, said, “There was a mound in the village called Baba Jamanjati Theh (mound). In the late 1950s, a large excavation took place here to gather soil for the construction of the then SIS School and its grounds. Villagers recall that during this process, numerous human skeletons and earthenware fragments were unearthed. Notably, there were no bricks or metallic items, suggesting that the settlement could belong to a pre-brick, ancient civilisation.”

“The lack of proper documentation and lab testing means that this rich archaeological history remains largely untapped. However, DNA analysis or carbon dating of the excavated remains could shed further light on Verka’s ancient past,” he added.

As per an oral account, the town was originally named “Virkan”, after a Virk landlord. The landlord had a beloved daughter, who did not wish to leave her father’s side after marriage. Her husband, eventually migrated from Jandiala Guru to Verka to live with her, leading to the establishment of the Hundal family’s landholdings, which became dominant in the area. Over time, during British administration, the village was referred to as “Wairka”, which eventually evolved into “Verka”, a local narrated said.