Bareilly Ka Chunna Miyan Mandir

Bareilly has an unique structure which is an example of Hindu Muslim Unity, a temple constructed by a Muslim. It is called Chunna Miyan ka Mandir and the presiding deity is Lord Laxmi Narayan .

 It was built by Mr.Fazal-ur-Rahman aka Chunna Miyan.It's foundation stone was laid by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Union of India.

The temple is situated in the Koharapeer area in the narrow alleys of  Katra Maan Rai. The temple is close to Budhwari Masjid. This is the area where the Punjabi migrants from West Pakistan settled down after  the partition. 

Story of Chunna Miyan is as interesting as the temple itself. Chunna Miyan lost his both parents at a very very young age. He struggled a lot as a teenager and wanted to do something of his own . His neighbour, Lala Gujartai Lal, whom he used to call Dadaji, gave him two rupees to start some venture. The boy started selling small items in a basket hanging from his neck. His grandson Shamsur Rahman recalls that he sold matchsticks, beedis and candles, and was soon in a position to return the loan, though Lalaji didn’t take it back, encouraging him to aim higher. With his labor, skill and entrepreneurship Fazlur Rahman soon went into the beedi business himself in a big way, and become a millionaire with properties all over Bareilly.

Fazlur Rahman aka Chunna Miyan, also owned a large piece of prime land in Katra Manrai, near main market . In the wake of Partition in 1947, many displaced people came to settle down in Bareilly. Many among them settled in main market  area  Bara Bazar and set up a small temple on the empty land nearby. When Chunna Miyan came to know of this, he asked them to vacate. When his efforts failed, he filed a case against the encroachers .

Around the same time, Harmilap ji Maharaj from Haridwar held a satsang , which he attended. The sage emphasized, “There is only one Parmatma and every human is His santan , whether they be male or female, Hindu, Muslim, Baudh , Jain, Sikh, Christian or Jew or Shinto (Japanese).” These simple  words found a connect with Chunna Miyan, and he had a sudden change of heart. He not only withdrew his case, but also compensated the encroachers for the cost incurred by them in litigation so far.

Along with giving the land, he donated ₹1,10,001 , which was a princely sum at that time for temple  construction, it is  enshrined in the marble tablet that has a list of donors. In fact, he leads the list with “Chacha Chunna Miyan” written in brackets next to his given name. He used to come here daily to do shram-dan and it was he who put in the first basket of mud when the foundation was laid.

In fact,  he himself gone to Jaipur to choose and bring Lord Lakshmi Narayan Murti. 

The temple is still called as Chunna Miyan ka Mandir and is a shining example of secular foundation of this country. 

The temple was finally inaugurated on May 16, 1960 by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India.