Lahore City
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Contents |
Lahore City
Population
[Ldhaur). — Capital of the Punjab and of the Division and District which take their names from it, situated in 31° 35' N. and 74° 20' E., on the river Ravi, at the junction of railway lines from Karachi, Peshawar, and Calcutta : distance by rail from Calcutta, 1,252 miles; Bombay, 1,280; Karachi, 784; and Delhi, 298. The city is the second largest in the Province ; and the population, excluding that of the cantonment, was 138,878 in 1881, 159,597 in 1891, and 186,884 in 1901. The popu- lation in 1901 included 113,253 Muhammadans, 62,922 Hindus, 5,964 Sikhs, and 4,199 Christians.
History
Though legend attributes the founding of Lahore or Lohawarana to Lava, the son of Rama, it is not probable that Lahore was founded before the first century a. D., as we neither find it mentioned in connexion with Alexander, nor is it described by Strabo or Pliny. On the other hand, it may possibly be the Labokla of Ptolemy, as Amakatis, which is mentioned by that author as near Labokla, has been identified by Cunningham with the ruins of Amba Kapi, about 25 miles from Lahore. The first certain historical record of Lahore is, however, that of Hiuen Tsiang, who mentions it as a large Brahmanical city visited by him in a. D. 630 on his way to JuUundur. About this time it is probable that the capital of the kingdom of Lahore was transferred to Sialkot, as Albiruni speaks of Lahore as a province whose capital was Mandhukur, and it is noticeable that Al Masudi makes no mention of Lahore.
At the end of the tenth century the kingdom of Lahore was in the hands of a Brahman dynasty, and in a.d. 988 Jai Pal, the reigning monarch, was decisively beaten by Sabuktagin. Mahmud did not visit Lahore for more than twenty years after his first invasion of the Punjab, though he defeated Jai Pal in looi and Anand Pal in 1008. Lahore city was not at this time a place of great importance. In 1034 Lahore was seized by Nialtigln, the revolted governor of Multan. He, how- ever, was expelled, and in 1036 Lahore was made the capital of the Ghaznivid dominions east of the Indus. A final insurrection by the Hindus at Lahore in 1042 was quelled by Maudud, and the city was left in charge of Malik Ayaz, whom Muhammadan tradition regards as the founder. During the reign of the first eight Ghaznivid princes Lahore was governed by viceroys as the head-quarters of a province, but during the reign of Masud III (1099-1114) it was made the seat of government of the empire. After Masud's death Muhammad Bahlim, governor of Lahore, rebelled against Bahram Shah in 11 19, but was defeated; and in 1153 Khusru Shah again transferred the seat of government to Lahore, where it remained till 1193. The city was put to ransom by Muhammad of Ghor in 1181, and taken in 1186.
From this time onwards Lahore was the centre of the opposition to the authorities at Delhi, while subject to the constant incursions of the turbulent Khokhars, who devastated the country round in 1205. On the death of Muhammad of Ghor in 1206 Kutb-ud-din Aibak was crowned at Lahore ; his heutenant Kubacha lost the city to Taj-ud- din Valduz in 1206, but it was recovered by Kutb-ud-din in the same year. From the death of Aram Shah in 1 2 1 1 the province of Lahore became the bone of contention between Altamsh at Delhi, Nasir- ud-din Kubacha at Multan, and Taj-ud-din Yalduz at Ghazni. Val- duz in 1 2 15 took Lahore from Nasir-ud-din ; but Altamsh defeated him in the following year, and made himself master of the city in 121 7. On the death of Altamsh in 1236, Malik Ala-ud-din Jani of Lahore broke out in revolt ; and after he had been defeated and killed, Kabi-Khan-i-Ayaz of Lahore likewise rebelled in 1238, but submitted later.
Then follows a century during which Lahore lay at the mercy of incessant Mongol raids. It was taken by them in 1241, and put to ransom in 1246. The city was rebuilt by Balban in 1270 ; but in 1285 the Mongols returned, and Balban's son, prince Muhammad, was slain in an encounter on the banks of the Ravi, the poet Amir Khusru being captured at the same time. Muhammad's son, Kai Khusru, was appointed governor of the Punjab in his stead, but was murdered in 1287. The suburb of Mughalpura was founded about this time by Mongol settlers, and Dua the Chaghatai made a raid on Lahore in 1 30 1. Under Ala-ud-dln Khilji, Ghazi Malik, afterwards the emperor Tughlak Shah, received charge of the territories of Dipalpur and Lahore as warden of the marches against the Mongols, an office he seems to have discharged with some success. However, the Khokhars took Lahore in 1342, and again in 1394, when it was recovered by Sarang Khan.
In 1398 Lahore was taken by a detachment of Timur's army, and seems to have lain desolate till it was rebuilt by Mubarak Shah in 1422. Jasrath Khokhar attacked Lahore in the same year, and again in 1431 and 1432, but without success; but in 1433 Shaikh Ali took the city, which, however, he had almost immediately to surrender. In 1 44 1 Bahlol Khan Lodi was appointed to the fiefs of Lahore and Dipalpur, and seized the opportunity of turning against his master Muhammad Shah. Lahore seems to have enjoyed a period of peace under the Pathans ; but in the reign of Ibrahim Lodi, Daulat Khan Lodi, governor of Lahore, revolted and called in the aid of Babar. Lahore was plundered by Babar's troops in 1524, but in his final invasion in the next year he passed to the north through Sialkot.
.The period of Mughal rule was the golden time of the history of Lahore, which again became a place of royal residence and grew to be, in the language of Abul Fazl, ' the grand resort of people of all nations ' ; it still retains many splendid memorials of this period. On the accession of Humayun, Kamran, his younger brother, took possession of Lahore and obtained the Punjab together with Kabul and Kandahar. In the struggle between Humayun and Sher Shah, Lahore was the niihtary head-quarters of the Mughals, and narrowly escaped destruction on their temporary defeat.
Humayun entered Lahore triumphantly in 1554, being received with every expression of joy ; but after Akbar had come to the throne, the place was seized in 1563 by his younger brother Hakim, who, though expelled, made another assault in 1581, from which he was repelled by Akbar in person. Akbar held his court at Lahore from 1584 to 1598, where he was visited by some Portuguese missionaries, and by the Englishmen Fitch, Newbery, Leedes, and Story. He enlarged and repaired the fort, and surrounded the town with a wall, portions of which still remain, embedded in the modern work of Ranjit Singh. Specimens of the mixed Hindu and Saracenic style adopted by Akbar survive within the fort, though largely defaced by later alterations. Under that great emperor, Lahore rapidly increased in area and population. The most thickly inhabited portion covered the site of the existing city, but long bazars and populous suburbs spread over the now desolate tract without the walls.
Some time after Jahangir's succession in 1605 prince Khusru escaped from Agra, seized the suburbs of Lahore, and besieged the citadel ; but he was quickly defeated and his followers put to death with great barbarity. Guru Arjun was implicated in this rebellion and died in captivity, or, as the Sikh tradition has it, disappeared miraculously beneath the waters of the Ravi. His shrine still stands between the Mughal palace and the mausoleum of Ranjit Singh. Jahangir iixed his court at Lahore in 1622 and died near by in 1627.
He erected the greater Khwabgah or 'sleeping-place,' the Moti Masjid or 'pearl mosque,' and the tomb of Anarkali, now used as a repository of secre- tariat records. The palace originally consisted of a large quadrangle, surrounded on three sides by a colonnade of red stone pillars, with capitals intricately carved with figures of peacocks, elephants, and griffins. In the centre of the fourth side, overlooking the Ravi, stood a lofty pavilion in the Mughal style, flanked by two chambers with elaborately decorated verandas of Hindu architecture. A garden filled the interior space of the quadrangle, with a raised platform of marble mosaic, while beneath the colonnade and pavilion under- ground chambers afforded cool retreats from the midday sun. The beauty of this building was largely disfigured by Sikh and European alterations, but a great deal has been done recently towards its restoration. Jahangir's mausoleum at Shahdara forms one of the chief ornaments of Lahore, though even this has suffered. The tombs of Nur Jahan, his devoted wife, and of her brother Asaf Khan, have fared worse, having been stripped of their marble facings and coloured tnamels by the Sikhs.
Sliali Jahan erected a smaller palace by the side of his father's building, the beauty of which can still be discerned through the whitewash which covers the marble slabs and hides the depredations of the Sikhs. To the same emperor is due the range of buildings to the left of the Khwabgah, with octagonal towers, the largest of which, known as the Samman Burj, contains the exquisite pavilion, inlaid with flowers wrought in precious stones, which derives its name of ' the Naulakha ' from its original cost of 9 lakhs ; together with the ShTsh Mahal, afterwards the reception-room of Ranjit Singh, and the scene of the transfer by Dallp Singh of the sovereignty of the Punjab to the British Government. Lahore was seized by Shahryar on Jahangir's death; but he was soon defeated, and between 1628 and 1637 Lahore enjoyed peace and prosperity under the rule of All Mardan Khan and Hakim Ali-ud-din, generally known as Wazir Khan.
The mosque built by the latter in 1634, in a Perso-Mughal style, contains in the panellings of its walls and minarets the finest known examples of khashi or inlaid pottery. This form of decoration, which must be reckoned among the lost arts of India, may also be studied to advantage in the mosque erected by Dai Anga, the wet- nurse of Shah Jahan, in 1635, which, after being used for several years as an office, has now been vacated and restored ; in the Chauburji, or ' four-turreted gateway,' built in 1641 by the princess Zeb-un-nisa, daughter of Aurangzeb ; and in the Lahore fort, where the khashi panels cover a surface of about 8,000 square yards. The panelling in the fort was carried out during the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, and possesses a special interest in the fact that, contrary to the almost invariable rule in Muhammadan art, figures of men and animals are freely introduced. During the reign of Shah Jahan, Lahore must have had a circuit of some 16 or 17 miles, the portion of the city outside the walls consisting of numerous thickly inhabited suburbs connected with the city gates by long bazars. The people of Lahore warmly espoused the cause of Dara Shikoh, and supplied him with men and money on his flight westward in 1658.
The Shalamar gardens and pleasure-ground, situated 4 miles east of Lahore city, were laid out in 1667 by All Mardan Khan, the celebrated engineer of Shah Jahan, in imitation of the garden planned by the emperor Jahangir at the sources of the Jhelum river in Kashmir. The garden consisted of seven divisions representing the seven degrees of the Paradise of Islam, of which only three are included in the present area of about 80 acres, the remainder having fallen into decay. In the centre is a reservoir, bordered by an elaborately indented coping and studded with pipes for fountains. A cascade falls into it over a slope of marble corrugated in an ornamental carved diaper. During the troublous times of Ahmad Shah the gardens were neglected, and some of the decorative works were defaced and removed. Ranjit Singh restored them ; but at the same time he laid ruthless hands upon the marble pavilions of the central reservoir, using them to adorn the Rambagh at Amritsar, and substituting structures of brick and whitewash in their stead.
Under Aurangzeb Lahore began to decline in population. Even before his time the foundation of Shahjahanabad, or modern Delhi, had drawn away the majority of the classes dependent upon the court ; and the constant absence of the emperor contributed still more to depress the city. Aurangzeb also constructed an embankment for three miles along the Ravi, to prevent inundations, but with such undesirable success that the river completely altered its course, and left the town at a considerable distance. Among his other works, the Jama Masjid or 'great mosque' ranks first, a stiff and somewhat ungraceful piece of architecture, which, in its poverty of detail, contrasts with the gorgeous profuseness of Agra and Delhi.
With the reign of Aurangzeb the architectural history of Lahore may be said to close, later attempts marking only the rapid decadence of art, which culminated in the tawdry erections of the Sikhs. From the accession of Bahadur Shah till the establishment of Ranjit Singh's authority at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the annals of Lahore consist of successive invasions and conquests by Nadir Shah, Ahmad Shah, and many less famous depredators. The magnificent city of the Mughal princes and their viceroys sank into a mere heap of ruins, containing a few scattered houses and a couple of Sikh forts within its shrunken walls; while outside, a wide expanse of broken remains marked the site of the decaying suburbs which once surrounded the capital.
As the capital of an outlying province Lahore early felt the effects of the decay of the empire. It was threatened by Banda's insurrection, and Bahadur Shah marched there in 1712, but died before he could effect anything. A conflict ensued outside the walls of Lahore between his son Jahandar and Azim-ush-shan, in which the latter was defeated and drowned in the Ravi. Under Farrukhsiyar the governor of Lahore was defeated by the Sikhs. He was succeeded by Abdus Samad Khan, who defeated the rebels and took Banda prisoner; and under his son Zakariya Khan the province had peace for twenty- one years (1717-38). He, however, found it prudent to submit to Nadir Shah, who accepted a ransom in lieu of plundering the city.
Ahmad Shah Durrani occupied Lahore in 1748, and again in his second invasion, after some resistance from Mir Mannu (Muin-ul-mulk), the new governor. Mir Mannu was succeeded by his widow, and her abduction by the Wazir was the pretext for Ahmad Shah's fourth invasion (1755). lahore was occupied and placed under prince Timur, from whom, however, it was taken by the Sikhs under Jassa Singh. They were expelled by the Marathas in 1758, who installed Adlna Beg as governor. He died a few months later, and the Maratha power was broken by Ahmad Shah's victory at Panlpat in 1761, while the Sikhs, who again besieged Lahore, were defeated in the following year mth great slaughter at Barnala, Kabuli Mai being left as governor of Lahore. The Sikh cavalry ravaged the country round, and after Ahmad Shah's seventh invasion Kabuli Mai was ejected and the Sikhs again became masters of Lahore.
For the thirty years following Ahmad Shah's final departure (1767-97) the Sikhs ruled in Lahore unmolested; then in 1797 Shah Zaman appeared before the city and put it to ransom. The next year he appeared again, and on this occasion Ranjit Singh re- ceived from him on his retirement a formal grant of the govern- ment of Lahore. The rise of Ranjit Singh's power made Lahore once more the centre of a flourishing, though ephemeral, kingdom.
The great Maharaja stripped the Muhammadan tombs of their orna- ments, which he sent to decorate the temple at Amritsar ; but he restored the Shalamar gardens, erected a really beautiful bdradari in the space between the palace and the Jama Masjid, and also built a number of minor erections in the very worst taste. His mausoleum, a mixed work of Hindu and Muhammadan architecture, forms one of the latest specimens of Sikh workmanship.
The collapse of the Lahore kingdom under Ranjit Singh's successors forms a chapter of Provincial history (see Punjab). In December, 1846, the Council of Regency was established, and the British Resident became the real central authority at Lahore. On March 29, 1849, at the con- clusion of the second Sikh ^^'ar, the young Maharaja Dalip Singh resigned the government to the British. In 1849 the environs still remained a mere expanse of crumbling ruins ; and the houses of the first European residents clustered around the old cantonment, on a strip of alluvial lowland, south of the town, running parallel to a former bed of the Ravi. Gradually, however, the station spread eastward ; and now a new town covers a large part of the area onc(3 given over to ruins and jungle, while every year sees fresh additions to the renovated capital.
Description
The native city covers an area of about one square mile. It was formerly surrounded by a brick wall, rising to a height of 30 feet and strengthened by a moat and other defences. But the moat has been filled in and the wall razed, and a garden now occupies the site of the trench and wall, encircling tlic city on every side except the north. Though situated in an alluvial plain, the present town stands high on tlic debris of ages. A metalled road runs round the outer side of the rampart, and gives access to the city by thirteen gates. The citadel or fort rises upon a slight but commanding eminence at the north-eastern angle, and abuts north- ward on the old river bed, while the esplanade stretches over an open space to the south and east. Within the city, narrow and tortuous streets, as well as lanes, some of them ending in culs-de-sac, and lined by tall houses, give Lahore a mean and gloomy appearance ; but the magnificent buildings of the Mughal period serve to relieve the dullness of its domestic architecture, and many of the houses are adorned with beautiful wood-carving. On the north-eastern side especially, the mosque of Aurangzeb, with its plain white marble domes and simple minarets, the mausoleum of Ranjit Singh, with its rounded roof and projecting balconies, and the desecrated fagade of the Mughal palace, stand side by side in front of an open grassy plain, exhibiting a grand coup davil.
The European quarter, or civil station, lies on the south and east of the city. The older part, known as Anarkali, lies to the south, and originally contained a cantonment, abandoned in 185 1-2 on account of its unhealthiness. Anarkali is connected with the city by a fine road known as the Old Mall, and contains the Secretariat buildings, District court-house, Government College, Punjab University, Senate Hall, the new University Hall, Town Hall, Museum, the Punjab Public Library converted from an old Mughal pavilion. Mayo and Lady Aitchison Hospitals, the Volunteer Club and many other public buildings, and a fine public garden. At the south end of the Old Mall stands the Chauburji, which formed the gateway of the garden of Zeb-un-nisa, the accomplished daughter of Aurangzeb. To the east is the railway colony, grouped about the station in the quarter known as the Naulakha.
It contains a railway school building, a theatre, and well-laid-out playgrounds. Near the railway station to the west are a large temple and dharmsdla built by Mul Chand, merchant. On the Empress Road a large building has been constructed for railway offices. To the south-east the Upper Mall stretches out for a distance of 3 miles to Government House and the Lawrence and Montgomery Halls. This road is the main thoroughfare of the newer residential quarter ; and on or near it are situated the Cathedral and Orphanages, and the Chief Court, besides sundry Government offices and most of the European shops. A large public garden surrounds the Lawrence and Montgomery Halls, containing a zoological garden, with a good collection of water-fowl. The village of Mozang on the south-east of the city is now almost surrounded on three sides by European resi- dences. Beyond Government House on the way to Lahore- Canton- ment is the Aitchison Chiefs' College.
Administration
The municipality was created in 1867. The income during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged 5-3 lakhs, and the expenditure 5-1 lakhs. In 1903-4 the income and expenditure were 6-4 lakhs and 6-1 lakhs respectively. Ine chiei source 01 in- come was octroi (Rs. 4,58,000), while the main items of outlay were conservancy (Rs. 72,000), education (Rs. 11,000), hospitals and dispen- saries (Rs. 33,000), water-supply and drainage (Rs. 81,000), adminis- tration (Rs. 72,000), public safety (Rs. 1,15,000), and public works (Rs. 62,000).
A system of water-works was opened in 1881. The supply is drawn from wells outside the city, whence it is pumped by engines direct into four connected tanks. The city, civil station, railway colony, and the village of Mozang are supplied by this system, and the estimated daily supply is ten gallons per head according to the population in 1 90 1. A separate engine with a separate main to the reservoir is also being erected, to guard against accidents and to relieve the strain on the one engine now working. A drainage system, which was completed in 1883, is being remodelled. The Upper Mall is now lighted by electricity.
Commerce and Industries
Most of the decorative arts for which Lahore was once famous have greatly declined or vanished altogether. The silk-workers, who once were famous for superior cloths of Bokhara thread, now turn out only inferior and coarse materials, industries. though the trade in these is flourishing enough. The mystery of gold and silver wire-drawing has entirely disappeared, and so has the production of glass, enamel, and arms, and but little gold embroidery is now done. On the other hand, trades of a useful character have largely increased, among which may be mentioned the manufacture of vegetable oils, candles, and soap, sulphuric and nitric acids, and printing, Hthography, and book-binding. The leather trade is an important one, and a large quantity of saddlery and shoes is turned out annually. Cotton fabrics are largely made, and a great deal of printing on coarse cotton stuffs is done. Good woollen blankets are produced, and fine pasJunlna woollen stuffs.
There is a consider- able output of wooden furniture, decorated as well as plain. A large quantity of bricks and tiles are burnt. Lahore is, moreover, an im- portant centre for the collection of agricultural produce ; and five cotton-ginning factories, three cotton-presses, and one combined ginning and pressing factory employed 427 hands in 1904. Of the other factories, the most important are the North-Western Railway work- shops, with 4,669 employes : two spinning and weaving mills, with 771 ; the Punjab Oil and Flour Mills, established in 1881, which turn out large quantities of flour and of castor and other vegetable oils, and in 1904 employed 65 hands; and an iron foundry, which in the same year employed 57. Two printing presses give employment to 229.
The Punjab Banking Company, the Punjab National Bank, and the People's Bank have their head-quarters at Lahore; and the Bank of Bengal, the Alliance Bank of Simla, the Commercial Bank of India, and the National Bank of India have branches in the city.
Education
As the head-quarters of the Local Government, Lahore naturally contains the principal educational institutions of the Province. These comprise the Punjab University, with five Colleges — the Government, Forman Christian, Dayanand Anglo- Vedic, Islamia, and Oriental ; also the Medical and Law Colleges, and the Central Training College. The city possesses twelve high schools : the Central Model High School, the Aitchison Chiefs' College, and the Dayanand, Union Academy, Madrasat-ul-Musalmin, and Sanatan Dharm Sabha schools, a school maintained by the Presbyterian Mission, the Victoria and Oriental schools, and three schools for Europeans. Its girls' schools include two high schools (one for Europeans) and three middle schools (two for Europeans). Technical and special education are provided by the Mayo School of Art, the medical school, the railway technical school, the Veterinary College, the Hindu Techni- cal Institute, and the Government normal school. Classes are also held in Yunani and Vedic medicine. Printing presses are numerous, and produce 20 English and 66 vernacular periodicals, of which the most important are the Civil and Military Gazette, the Tribune, and the Observer.
Lahore is the head-quarters of the Anglican diocese of that name. The Cathedral of the Resurrection, a fine building in the later Early English style, was consecrated in 1887. There is also a railway church in Naulakha. The Church Missionary Society has a theological training school at Lahore. The city is also the head-quarters of the Roman Catholic diocese of Lahore, and contains the Pro-Cathedral. A fine new Cathedral, in a style which is a mixture of Roman and Byzantine, will .shortly be completed. The American Presbyterian Mission has a church, and several native churches exist in the city. Missions are conducted by the Church Missionary Society and the Methodist Episcopal Mission.
Lahore is the head-quarters of the Punjab Light Horse and of the ist Punjab Volunteer Rifles, the Lahore contingent consisting of a troop of the former and three and a half companies of the latter. The fort is garrisoned by small detachments of British and Native infantry. The chief medical institutions are the Mayo and Lady Aitchison Hospitals, besides the Medical College above mentioned.
