During the Post-Gurudom period the Giani Samparda was possibly the most influential Samparda to exist, and this hold over
Sikhism and Sikhs continued till the torture and subsequent death of
Giani Gurmukh Singh at the hand of
Hira Singh Dogra. The ownership of the various Bungas, Burjs, or Sarais, was personal or community-based, this one was private property. They were centers of learning, places for religious and socio-political discourse, and also provided residential accommodation for pilgrims. Bunga Shahbadian of Karam Singh Nirmala was among the earliest structures built. This was the place where Giani Soorat Singh first arrived and stayed to serve as the head Granthi and manager of the Golden Temple. The Sikh Raj had been declared in 1799, and three years later in 1802 Maharaja Ranjit Singh had made the Giani of the Giani Samparda a hereditary title, hence the next to priestship was an Afghan war veteran and scion of the Gianis, Giani Sant Singh. Like his father, Giani Sant Singh also constructed various Bungas across the Golden Temple, but his most famous work was plating the Golden Temple in gold and Jaipuri marble. He had assassinated Dhian Singh Dogra for treachery against the Khalsa and was supported by his father's student, Bhai Bir Singh Naurangabad. Due to his involvement against the Dogras, Hira Singh Dogra caught him from the Burj Gianian and gave him to
Muslims to torture him to death. (1939) with the Burj Gianian on the left-hand side.
Giani Pardoman Singh, the next in line, was put under house arrest in the Burj Gianian, but later escaped to
Ludhiana with his three brothers. He returned after some time and won against the Dogras in court over the right to the Burj, though he was not able to recover the other three Bungas/Baradari around the complex due to the
Anglo-Sikh Wars. The influence of the Giani Samparda decreased during this time, as did the influence of Sikhism. Giani Pardoman Singh and his brother
Giani Lehna Singh had founded the Gurmukhi Akhbar, a newspaper, from the Burj Gianian. In 1988 there were four families of descendants of the Gianis who lived in the large Burj Gianian, but the Punjab Government had broken it down to build a Galliara (open walled space) around the Golden Temple for more control over it in the aftermath of
Operation Black Thunder. The historical site was not reconstructed, though an underground tunnel caused controversy when being unearthed, there have been protests over the historical nature and need to rebuild the Bungas, Baradaris and Burjs around the complex. == See also ==