Lahore

Lahore is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is the second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and has a population of over 14 million people. Lahore is an important industrial, educational, and economic center in Pakistan.

The city's history goes back thousands of years, but it became very important in the late 10th century when the Walled City was built. Lahore was once the capital of many empires, including the Mughal Empire, and was one of the world's largest cities. Today, Lahore is known for its rich culture, famous buildings like the Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens, and important universities. It is also a center for music, films, and literature in Pakistan.

Etymology

Main article: Etymology of Lahore

The name Lahore might have many origins. Early writers used different versions of the name, such as Luhawar and Lāhanūr. Some believe the name comes from an old word linked to the Ravi River. Others think it may mean “blacksmith.” There is also a story that says Lahore was founded by a prince named Lava, the son of the characters Sita and Rama from old tales.

History

Origins

Main article: Origins of Lahore

No definitive record of Lahore's early history exists, and its background has led to many theories about how and when it was founded. Alexander the Great's historians did not mention a city near Lahore during his invasion in 326 BCE, suggesting it might not have existed then or was not important. Ptolemy mentioned a city called Labokla near the Chenab and Ravi rivers, which might have been ancient Lahore or an earlier version of it. Chinese traveler Xuanzang described a large, prosperous city that may have been Lahore when he visited the region in 630 CE.

The first document to mention Lahore by name is from 982 CE, calling it a town with impressive temples, large markets, and huge orchards.

Mediaeval era

Main article: Early Muslim period in Lahore

Ghaznavid

Sultan Mahmud conquered Lahore between 1020 and 1027, making it part of the Ghaznavid Empire. He appointed Malik Ayaz as its governor in 1021. During Sultan Ibrahim's reign, Malik Ayaz rebuilt the city after it was devastated by the Ghaznavid invasion. He also built city walls and a masonry fort between 1037 and 1040 on the ruins of an earlier one. During his time, a group of Hindu princes unsuccessfully tried to attack Lahore in 1043–44.

Lahore became the eastern capital of the Ghaznavid Empire in 1152 under Sultan Khusrau Shah. After the fall of Ghazni in 1163, it became the sole capital. Under their support, poets and scholars gathered in Lahore, making it a cultural and academic center known for poetry. The entire city of Lahore during this time was likely located west of the modern Shah Alami Bazaar and north of the Bhatti Gate.

Mamluk

After the siege of Lahore in 1186, the Ghurid ruler Muhammad captured the city and imprisoned Khusrau Malik, ending Ghaznavid rule. Lahore became the first capital of the Mamluk dynasty of what would later be known as the Delhi Sultanate in 1206. Under Sultan Qutb-ud-Din Aibak, Lahore attracted poets and scholars from the Muslim World. At this time, Lahore had more poets writing in Persian than any other city. After Aibak's death, Lahore was controlled by the governor of Multan, Nasir ad-Din Qabacha, and then briefly captured in 1217 by the sultan in Delhi, Iltutmish.

In 1223, the Khwarazmian sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni captured Lahore after fleeing from Genghis Khan's invasion. He then fled to Uch Sharif after Iltutmish's army re-captured Lahore in 1228.

The threat of Mongol invasions and political instability caused future sultans to see Delhi as a safer capital, even though Delhi was considered a forward base while Lahore was seen as the center of Islamic culture in northeastern Punjab.

Lahore came under weaker central rule under Iltutmish's descendants in Delhi, to the point that governors in the city acted with great independence. Actual Sultanate rule lasted only a few decades until locals reclaimed autonomy. Lahore was sacked and ruined by the Mongol army in 1241, with the Mongols holding the city for a few years under the Mongol chief Toghrul.

In 1266, sultan Balban reconquered Lahore, but in 1287 under the Mongol ruler Temür Khan, the Mongols again overran northern Punjab. Because of Mongol invasions, the Lahore region became a city on a frontier, with the administrative center shifting south to Dipalpur. The Mongols invaded northern Punjab again in 1298, though their advance was eventually stopped by Ulugh Khan, brother of Sultan Alauddin Khalji of Delhi. The Mongols attacked Lahore again in 1305.

Tughluq

Lahore briefly flourished again under Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq of the Tughluq dynasty between 1320 and 1325, though the city was sacked again in 1329 by Tarmashirin of the Central Asian Chagatai Khanate, and then by the Mongol chief Hülechü. Khokhars seized Lahore in 1342, but the city was retaken by Ghazi Malik's son, Muhammad bin Tughluq. The weakened city then fell into obscurity and was captured once more by the Khokhar chief Shaikha in 1394. By the time the Mongol conqueror Timur captured the city in 1398 from Shaikha, he did not loot it because it was no longer wealthy.

Late Sultanates

Timur gave control of the Lahore region to Khizr Khan, governor of Multan, who later established the Sayyid dynasty in 1414 – the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. The city was besieged twice by Jasrat, the ruler of Sialkot, during the reign of Mubarak Shah, the longest being in 1431–32. To fight Jasrat, the city was granted by the Sayyid dynasty to Bahlul Lodi in 1441, though Lodi would then displace the Sayyids in 1451 by establishing himself on the throne of Delhi.

Bahlul Lodi installed his cousin, Tatar Khan, as governor of the city, though Tatar Khan died in battle with Sikandar Lodi in 1485. Governorship of Lahore was transferred by Sikandar Lodi to Umar Khan Sarwani, who quickly left the management of this city to his son Said Khan Sarwani. Said Khan was removed from power in 1500 by Sikandar Lodi, and Lahore came under the governorship of Daulat Khan Lodi, son of Tatar Khan and former employer of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.

Mughals

Main articles: Subah of Lahore and Mughal period in Lahore

Early Mughal

Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, captured and sacked Lahore and Dipalpur, although he retreated after the Lodi nobles backed away from assisting him. The city became a refuge to Humayun and his cousin Kamran Mirza when Sher Shah Suri rose in power in the Gangetic plains, displacing Mughals. Sher Shah Suri seized Lahore in 1540, though Humayun reconquered Lahore in February 1555. The establishment of Mughal rule eventually led to the most prosperous era of Lahore's history. Lahore's position has led to more Mughal-era monuments in Lahore than either Delhi or Agra.

By the time of the rule of the Mughal empire's greatest emperors, most of Lahore's residents did not live within the walled city itself but instead lived in suburbs that had spread outside the city's walls. Only 9 of the 36 urban quarters around Lahore, known as guzars, were located within the city walls during the Akbar period. During this period, Lahore was closely tied to smaller market towns known as qasbahs, such as Kasur and Eminabad, as well as Amritsar and Batala in modern-day India, which in turn, linked to supply chains in villages surrounding each qasbah.

Akbar

Beginning in 1584, Lahore became the Mughal capital when Akbar began re-fortifying the city's ruined citadel, laying the foundations for the revival of the Lahore Fort. Akbar made Lahore one of his original twelve subah provinces, and in 1585–86, relegated governorship of the city and subah to Bhagwant Das, brother of Mariam-uz-Zamani, who was commonly known as "Jodhabhai".

Akbar also rebuilt the city's walls and extended their perimeter east of the Shah Alami bazaar to encompass the sparsely populated area of Rarra Maidan. The Akbari Mandi grain market was set up during this era, which continues to function to the present-day. Akbar also established the Dharampura neighbourhood in the early 1580s, which survives today. The earliest of Lahore's many havelis date from the Akbari era.

Jahangir

During the reign of Emperor Jahangir in the early 17th century, Lahore's bazaars were noted to be vibrant, frequented by foreigners, and stocked with a wide array of goods. In 1606, Jahangir's rebel son Khusrau Mirza laid siege to Lahore after obtaining the blessings of the Sikh Guru Arjan Dev. Jahangir quickly defeated his son at Bhairowal, and the roots of Mughal–Sikh tensions grew. Sikh Guru Arjan Dev was executed in Lahore in 1606 for his involvement in the rebellion. Emperor Jahangir chose to be buried in Lahore, and his tomb was built in Lahore's Shahdara Bagh suburb in 1637 by his wife Nur Jahan, whose tomb is also nearby.

Shah Jahan

Jahangir's son, Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658), was born in Lahore in 1592. He renovated large portions of the Lahore Fort with luxurious white marble and erected the iconic Naulakha Pavilion in 1633. Shah Jahan lavished Lahore with some of its most celebrated and iconic monuments, such as the Shalamar Gardens in 1641. His Punjabi viceroy and royal physician Wazir Khan also built a number of monuments in the city, including the extravagantly decorated Wazir Khan Mosque, the Wazir Khan Baradari, and the Shahi Hammam, during his tenure. The population of pre-modern Lahore probably reached its peak during his reign, with suburban districts home to perhaps 6 times as many compared to within the Walled City.

Aurangzeb

Shah Jahan's son, Aurangzeb, last of the great Mughal Emperors, further contributed to the development of Lahore. Aurangzeb built the Alamgiri Bund embankment along the Ravi river in 1662 to prevent its shifting course from threatening the city's walls. The area near the embankment grew into a fashionable locality, with several nearby pleasure gardens laid by Lahore's gentry. The largest of Lahore's Mughal monuments, the Badshahi Mosque, was raised during Aurangzeb's reign in 1673, as well as the iconic Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore fort in 1674.

Late Mughal

Civil wars regarding succession to the Mughal throne following Aurangzeb's death in 1707 led to weakening control over Lahore from Delhi, and a prolonged period of decline in Lahore. Mughal preoccupation with the Marathas in the Deccan Plateau eventually resulted in Lahore being governed by a series of governors who pledged nominal allegiance to the ever-weaker Mughal emperors in Delhi.

Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I died enroute to Lahore as part of a campaign in 1711 to subdue Sikh rebels under the leadership of Banda Singh Bahadur. His sons fought a battle outside Lahore in 1712 for succession to the Mughal crown, with Jahandar winning the throne. Sikh rebels were defeated during the reign of Farrukhsiyar when Abd as-Samad and Zakariyya Khan suppressed them.

Nader Shah's brief invasion of the Mughal Empire in early 1739 wrested control away from Zakariya Khan Bahadur. Though Khan was able to win back control after the Persian armies had left, the trade routes had shifted away from Lahore, and south towards Kandahar instead. Indus ports near the Arabian Sea that served Lahore also silted up during this time, reducing the city's importance even further.

Struggles between Zakariyya Khan's sons following his death in 1745 further weakened Muslim control over Lahore, thus leaving the city in a power vacuum, and vulnerable to foreign marauders.

Durrani invasions

The Durrani ruler Ahmad Shah occupied Lahore in 1748. Following Ahmed Shah Durrani's quick retreat, the Mughals entrusted Lahore to Mu’īn al-Mulk Mir Mannu. Ahmad Shah again invaded in 1751, forcing Mir Mannu into signing a treaty that nominally subjected Lahore to Durrani rule. Lahore was third time conquered by Ahmad Shah in 1752. The Mughal Grand Vizier Ghazi-Din Imad al-Mulk seized Lahore in 1756, provoking Ahmad Shah to invade for fourth time in 1757, after which he placed the city under the rule of his son, Timur Shah.

Durrani rule was interrupted when Lahore was conquered by Adina Beg Arain with the assistance of Marathas in 1758 during their campaigns against Afghans. After Adina Beg's untimely death in 1758, however, Marathas temporarily occupied the city. The following year, the Durranis again marched into Lahore and conquered it. After the Durranis withdrew from the city in 1765, Sikh forces quickly occupied it. By this time, the city had been ravaged several time and had lost all of its former grandeur. The Durranis invaded two more times — in 1797 and 1798 — under Shah Zaman, but the Sikhs re-occupied the city after both invasions as the Durranis were forced to attend to other problems on their western borders.

Sikh

Main article: Sikh period in Lahore

Early

Expanding Sikh Misls secured control over Lahore in 1767, when the Bhangi Misl state captured the city. In 1780, the city was divided among three rulers: Gujjar Singh, Lahna Singh, and Sobha Singh. Instability resulting from this arrangement allowed nearby Amritsar to establish itself as the area's primary commercial centre in place of Lahore.

Ahmad Shah Durrani's grandson, Zaman Shah, captured Lahore in 1796, and again in 1798–99. Ranjit Singh negotiated with the Afghans for the post of subahdar to control Lahore following the second invasion.

By the end of the 18th century, the city's population drastically declined, with its remaining residents living within the city walls, while the extramural suburbs lay abandoned, forcing travellers to pass through abandoned and ruined suburbs for a few miles before reaching the city's gates.

Sikh Empire

In the aftermath of Zaman Shah's 1799 invasion of Punjab, Ranjit Singh, of nearby Gujranwala, began to consolidate his position. Singh was able to seize control of the region after a series of battles with the Bhangi chiefs who had seized Lahore in 1780. His army marched to Anarkali, where according to tradition, the gatekeeper of the Lohari Gate, Mukham Din Chaudhry, opened the gates allowing Ranjit Singh's army to enter Lahore. After capturing Lahore, Sikh soldiers immediately began plundering areas of the city until their actions were reined in by Ranjit Singh.

Ranjit Singh's rule restored some of Lahore's lost grandeur, but at the expense of destroying the remaining Mughal architecture for building materials. He established a mint in the city in 1800, and moved into the Mughal palace at the Lahore fort after repurposing it for his own use in governing the Sikh Empire. In 1801, he established a Gurdwara Ram Das to mark the site where Guru Ram Das was born in 1534.

Lahore became the empire's administrative capital, though the nearby economic centre of Amritsar had also been established as the empire's spiritual capital by 1802. By 1812, Singh had mostly refurbished the city's defences by adding a second circuit of outer walls surrounding Akbar's original walls, with the two separated by a moat. Singh also partially restored Shah Jahan's decaying Shalimar Gardens and built the Hazuri Bagh Baradari in 1818 to celebrate his capture of the Koh-i-Noor diamond from Shuja Shah Durrani in 1813. He erected the Gurdwara Dera Sahib to mark the site of Guru Arjan Dev's death (1606). The Sikh royal court also endowed religious architecture in the city, including a number of Sikh gurdwaras, Hindu temples, and havelis.

Under Ranjit Singh's rule, Mughal monuments suffered during the Sikh period as his armies plundered most of Lahore's most precious Mughal monuments, and stripped the white marble from several monuments to send to different parts of the Sikh Empire during his reign. Monuments plundered for decorative materials include the Tomb of Asif Khan, the Tomb of Nur Jahan, and the Shalimar Gardens. Ranjit Singh's army also desecrated the Badshahi Mosque by converting it into an ammunition depot and a stable for horses. The Sunehri Mosque in the Walled City was also converted to a gurdwara, while the Mariyam Zamani Mosque was repurposed into a gunpowder factory.

Late

The Lahore Durbar underwent a quick succession of rulers after the death of Ranjit Singh. His son Kharak Singh died on 6 November 1840, soon after taking the throne. On that same day, the next appointed successor to the throne, Nau Nihal Singh, died in an accident at the gardens of Hazuri Bagh. Maharaja Sher Singh was then selected as Maharajah, though his claim to the throne was quickly challenged by Chand Kaur, widow of Kharak Singh and mother of Nau Nihal Singh, who quickly seized the throne. Sher Singh raised an army that attacked Chand Kaur's forces in Lahore on 14 January 1841. His soldiers mounted weaponry on the minarets of the Badshahi Mosque to target Chand Kaur's forces in the Lahore fort, destroying the fort's historic Diwan-e-Aam. Kaur quickly ceded the throne, but Sher Sing was then assassinated in 1843 in Lahore's Chah Miran neighbourhood along with his wazir Dhiyan Singh. Dhyan Singh's son, Hira Singh, sought to avenge his father's death by laying siege to Lahore to capture his father's assassins. The siege resulted in the capture of his father's murderer, Ajit Singh.

Duleep Singh was then crowned Maharajah, with Hira Singh as his wazir, but his power would be weakened by the continued infighting among Sikh nobles, as well as confrontations against the British during the two Anglo-Sikh wars.

After the conclusion of the two Anglo-Sikh wars, the Sikh Empire fell into disarray, resulting in the fall of the Lahore Durbar, and commencement of British rule after they captured Lahore and the wider Punjab region.

British colonial period

The British East India Company seized control of Lahore in February 1846 from the collapsing Sikh state and occupied the rest of Punjab in 1848. Following the defeat of the Sikhs at the Battle of Gujrat, British troops formally deposed Maharaja Duleep Singh in Lahore that same year. Punjab was then annexed to the British Indian Empire in 1849.

At the commencement of British rule, Lahore was estimated to have a population of 120,000. Prior to annexation by the British, Lahore's environs consisted mostly of the Walled City surrounded by plains interrupted by settlements to the south and east, such as Mozang and Qila Gujar Singh, which have since been engulfed by modern Lahore. The plains between the settlements also contained the remains of Mughal gardens, tombs, and Sikh-era military structures.

The British viewed Lahore's Walled City as a bed of potential social discontent and disease epidemics, and so largely left the inner city alone, while focusing development efforts in Lahore's suburban areas and Punjab's fertile countryside. The British instead laid out their capital city in an area south of the Walled City that would first come to be known as "Donald's Town" before being renamed "Civil Station".

Under early British rule, formerly prominent Mughal-era monuments that were scattered throughout Civil Station were also re-purposed and sometimes desecrated – including the Tomb of Anarkali, which the British had initially converted to clerical offices before re-purposing it as an Anglican church in 1851. The 17th-century Dai Anga Mosque was converted into railway administration offices during this time, the tomb of Nawab Bahadur Khan was converted into a storehouse, and the tomb of Mir Mannu was used as a wine shop. The British also used older structures to house municipal offices, such as the Civil Secretariat, Public Works Department, and Accountant General's Office.

The British built the Lahore Railway Station just outside the Walled City shortly after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857; the station was therefore styled as a mediaeval castle to ward off any potential future uprisings, with thick walls, turrets, and holes to direct gun and cannon fire for the defence of the structure. Lahore's most prominent government institutions and commercial enterprises came to be concentrated in Civil Station in a half-mile wide area flanking The Mall, where unlike in Lahore's military zone, the British and locals were allowed to mix. The Mall continues to serve as the epicentre of Lahore's civil administration, as well as one of its most fashionable commercial areas. The British also laid the spacious Lahore Cantonment to the southeast of the Walled City at the former village of Mian Mir, where unlike around The Mall, laws did exist against the mixing of different races.

Lahore was visited on 9 February 1870 by Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh – a visit in which he received delegations from the Dogras of Jammu, Maharajas of Patiala, the Nawab of Bahawalpur, and other rulers from various Punjabi states. During the visit, he visited several of Lahore's major sights. British authorities built several important structures around the time of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria (1887) in the distinctive Indo-Saracenic style, including the Lahore Museum and Mayo School of Industrial Arts.

The British carried out a census of Lahore in 1901, and counted 20,691 houses in the Walled City. An estimated 200,000 people lived in Lahore at this time. Lahore's posh Model Town was established as a "garden town" suburb in 1921, while Krishan Nagar locality was laid in the 1930s near The Mall and Walled City.

Lahore played an important role in the independence movements of both India and Pakistan. The Declaration of the Independence of India was moved by Jawaharlal Nehru and passed unanimously at midnight on 31 December 1929 at Lahore's Bradlaugh Hall. The Indian Swaraj flag was adopted this time as well. Lahore's jail was used by the British to imprison independence activists such as Jatin Das, and was also where Bhagat Singh was hanged in 1931. Under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the All India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution in 1940, demanding the creation of Pakistan as a separate homeland for the Muslims of India.

Partition

The future of the city of Lahore was fiercely contested during partition. According to the 1941 census, the city of Lahore had a population of 671,659, of which was 64.5% Muslim, with the remainder 35% being Hindu and Sikh, alongside a small Christian community. This population figure was disputed by Hindus and Sikhs before the Boundary Commission that would draw the Radcliffe Line to demarcate the border of the two new states based on religious demography, who argued that the city was only 54% Muslim based on 1945 ration card figures, and that Hindu and Sikh domination of the city's economy and educational institutions should trump Muslim demography. Two-thirds of shops, and 80% of Lahore's factories belonged to the Hindu and Sikh community. Indian journalist Kuldip Nayar claimed that Cyril Radcliffe had told him in 1971 that he originally had planned to give Lahore to the new Dominion of India, but decided to place it within the Dominion of Pakistan, which he saw as lacking a major city as he had already awarded Calcutta to India.

As tensions grew over the city's uncertain fate, Lahore experienced Partition's worst riots. Carnage ensued in which all three religious groups were both victims and perpetrators. Early riots in March and April 1947 destroyed 6,000 of Lahore's 82,000 homes. Violence continued to rise throughout the summer, despite the presence of armoured British personnel. Hindus and Sikhs began to leave the city en masse as their hopes that the Boundary Commission would award the city to India came to be regarded as increasingly unlikely. By late August 1947, 66% of Hindus and Sikhs had left the city. The Shah Alami Bazaar, once a largely Hindu quarter of the Walled City, was entirely burnt down during subsequent rioting.

When Pakistan's independence was declared on 14 August 1947, the Radcliffe Line had not yet been announced, and so cries of "Long live Pakistan" and "God is greatest" were heard intermittently with "Long live Hindustan" throughout the night. On 17 August 1947, Lahore was awarded to Pakistan on the basis of its Muslim majority in the 1941 census and was made capital of the Punjab province in the new state of Pakistan. The city's location near the Indian border meant that it received large numbers of refugees fleeing eastern Punjab and northern India, though it was able to accommodate them given the large stock of abandoned Hindu and Sikh properties that could be re-distributed to newly arrived refugees. In post-partition India, the loss of Lahore catalyzed the development of the new modernist capital city of Chandigarh.

Modern

Partition left Lahore with a much-weakened economy, and a stymied social and cultural scene that had previously been invigorated by the city's Hindus and Sikhs. Industrial production dropped to one-third of pre-Partition level by the end of the 1940s, and only 27% of its manufacturing units were operating by 1950, and usually well-below capacity. Capital flight further weakened the city's economy while Karachi industrialised and became more prosperous. The city's weakened economy, and proximity to the Indian border, meant that the city was deemed unsuitable to be the Pakistani capital after independence. Karachi was therefore chosen to be the capital on account of its relative tranquility during the Partition period, stronger economy, and better infrastructure.

After independence, Lahore slowly regained its significance as an economic and cultural centre of western Punjab. Reconstruction began in 1949 of the Shah Alami Bazaar, the former Hindu-dominated commercial heart of the Walled City prior to its destruction in the 1947 riots. The Tomb of Allama Iqbal was built in 1951 to honour the philosopher-poet who provided the spiritual inspiration for the Pakistan movement. In 1955, Lahore was selected to be the capital of all West Pakistan during the single-unit period that lasted until 1970. Shortly afterwards, Lahore's iconic Minar-e-Pakistan was completed in 1968 to mark the spot where the Pakistan Resolution was passed. With support from the United Nations, the government was able to rebuild Lahore, and most scars from the communal violence of Partition were ameliorated.

The second Islamic Summit Conference was held in the city in 1974. In retaliation for the destruction of the Babri Masjid in India, riots erupted in 1992 in which several non-Muslim monuments were targeted, including the tomb of Maharaja Sher Singh, and the former Jain temple near The Mall. In 1996, the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup final match was held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

The Walled City of Lahore restoration project began in 2009, when the Punjab government restored the Royal Trail from Akbari Gate to the Lahore Fort with money from the World Bank.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Lahore

Lahore is located in the northeastern part of Pakistan. It lies between certain latitudes and longitudes and is surrounded by different districts and a river. The city covers an area of 404 square kilometres.

Climate

Main article: Climate of Lahore

Lahore has a hot semi-arid climate, which means it can get very warm, especially in June when temperatures often go above 45 °C. The monsoon season brings rain from late June through September, sometimes with strong storms. January is the coolest month, often filled with fog. The city has recorded very high temperatures in the past and is known for having poor air quality.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Lahore

Lahore is a big city with lots of people. In 2017, more than 11 million people lived there, and the city is growing quickly. Many of the people are young, with over 40% being under 15 years old.

Most people in Lahore come from different backgrounds. The largest group is the Arain Punjabis, making up about 40% of the population. Another big group is the Punjabi–Kashmiris at around 30%. There are also smaller groups like Rajput Punjabis and Kamboh Punjabis. Other groups include Pashtuns, Muhajirs, and Meo, among others.

The city is mainly Muslim, with over 95% of people following this faith. There are also small Christian, Ahmadi, Baháʼí, Hindu, Parsi, Sikh, and Zoroastrian communities. Lahore is an important place for Sikhs because it has some of their most sacred sites. The city also has a few Hindu temples.

Punjabi is the most commonly spoken language in Lahore, used by over 70% of the people as their first language. Urdu is also widely used, especially in schools and government work. Some people also speak Pashto, Mewati, and other languages.

Cityscape

Old City

Lahore's modern cityscape includes the historic Walled City of Lahore, which contains many important places and World Heritage Sites. The city's streets grew naturally, with small pathways called katrahs and galis forming around buildings. Different areas were sometimes named after groups of people, but most neighbourhoods had people from many backgrounds.

Lahore shares similarities with other old cities in South Asia, like Peshawar, Multan, and Delhi, all of which grew near rivers and had old walled cities and royal areas.

By the time Sikh rulers took control, most large homes called haveli compounds in Lahore were lived in by new families. New areas sometimes grew inside old homes. By 1831, all the old Mughal homes in the walled city were surrounded by new neighbourhoods, so today we don't see any of those old homes anymore.

Thirteen gates once surrounded the old walled city. Some gates that still remain include the Raushnai Gate, Masti Gate, Yakki Gate, Kashmiri Gate, Khizri Gate, Shah Burj Gate, Akbari Gate, and Lahori Gate. To the southeast of the walled city is the large Lahore Cantonment from British times.

Bazaars

Lahore has many markets, called bazaars. Some inside the old walled city include Sarafa Bazaar, Copper and Brass Bazaar, Kashmiri Bazaar, Lakshami Bazaar, Shah Almi Bazaar, Soha Bazaar, and Dabi Bazaar. Markets outside the old city include Anarkali Bazaar, Ichra Bazaar, Garhi Shahu Bazaar, Landa Bazaar, Sadar Bazaar, Urdu Bazaar, and Naulakha Bazaar.

Architecture

Lahore has many important buildings from the Mughal Empire, Sikh Empire, and British times. The architecture of the Walled City of Lahore has been shaped mainly by Mughal and Sikh styles.

When the Sikh Empire took over at the end of the 18th century, leaders like Ranjit Singh rebuilt parts of Lahore, inspired by Mughal ways. Lahore was known as the 'City of Gardens' during this time. Later, British maps showed many private gardens that were taken from Muslim families and given new names based on Sikh nobles.

Even though much of Lahore's old Mughal buildings were damaged by the time Sikh rulers arrived, they still left the city with some important places and changed the Lahore Fort. They built some homes, though only a few remain today.

As the capital of British Punjab, Lahore's buildings were mostly designed in the Indo-Gothic style, mixing Victorian and Islamic architecture, or in the Indo-Saracenic style. The British built neoclassical Montgomery Hall, which is now the Quaid-e-Azam Library.

Lawrence Gardens were created near Civil Station, paid for by donations from both Europeans and wealthy locals in Lahore. These gardens had over 600 types of plants and were cared for by a gardener from London's Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.

The areas south of the old city and the Cantonment area southwest of the city were mostly built during British rule, with many buildings from that time along tree-lined streets.

The British built several important buildings around 1887 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, like the Lahore Museum and Mayo School of Industrial Arts. Other famous Indo-Saracenic buildings in Lahore include Aitchison College, the Punjab Chief Court (now the Lahore High Court), Lahore Museum, and the University of the Punjab.

Many of Lahore's most important buildings were designed by the civil engineer and architect Sir Ganga Ram, who is called "the father of modern Lahore".

Parks and gardens

Lahore is famous as "the city of gardens" because it has so many parks and gardens. The Shahdara Bagh is one of the oldest Mughal gardens, built in the 15th century, and it contains the Tomb of Jahangir. The Shalimar Gardens were built during the time of Shah Jahan to look like the paradise described in the Qur'an, with four squares and three levels. In 1818, Hazuri Bagh was built by Ranjit Singh to celebrate getting the Koh-i-Noor diamond.

The Lawrence Garden was created in 1862 and was named after Sir John Lawrence, a British leader in India. The Circular Garden, which surrounds the Walled City on three sides, was made by 1892. The old parade ground next to Badshahi Mosque was renamed Minto Park during British times, and after being fixed up, it became Iqbal Park.

Other gardens and parks in the city include Hazuri Bagh, Iqbal Park, Mochi Bagh, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Model Town Park, Jilani Park, Nasir Bagh Lahore, Jallo Park, Lahore Zoo Safari Park, and Changa Manga, a man-made forest near Lahore in the Kasur area. The Bagh-e-Jinnah is a big garden with plants, entertainment, sports areas, and a library.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Lahore

Lahore is a very important city for work and business in Pakistan. In 2008, the city’s total work value, known as GDP, was about $40 billion. By 2025, this is expected to grow to $102 billion. Lahore creates about 11.5% of Pakistan’s total work value and 19% of Punjab’s work value.

Lahore has many factories and businesses. About 42% of people in Lahore work in jobs like banking, real estate, and services. The city is also a big place for making computer parts and software. It is where most books in Pakistan are printed and is a key center for learning and culture.

Big projects like the Lahore Expo Centre and the Defence Raya Golf Resort show how the city is growing. These projects help make Lahore more important for business in Pakistan.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Lahore

Public transportation

Lahore has many ways to get around. The main system is run by the Lahore Transport Company and the Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMTA). The most important part is the PMTA's Lahore Metrobus and the Orange Line of the Lahore Metro train. There are also many buses that help connect different parts of the city to the Metrobus. The Orange Line metro goes around the city for 27.1 km and travels at up to 80 km/h.

Metrobus

The Lahore Metrobus is a fast bus service in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It works together with local buses to connect different areas of Lahore District and nearby towns.

Low occupancy vehicles

These are small vans that act like buses and travel many routes in the city.

Metro Train

Orange Line

Main article: Orange Line (Lahore Metro)

The Orange Line Metro Train is a fast train system in Lahore. It is the first of three planned rail lines. It stretches 27.1 km, with most of it above ground and a small part below. It has 26 stops and can carry over 250,000 people each day. The trains can go up to 80 km/h and started regular service in October 2020.

Blue Line

The Blue Line is a planned 24 km line from Chauburji to College Road Township. It will stop at many places along the way.

Purple Line

The Purple Line is a planned 19 km line from Bhaati Chowk to the Allama Iqbal International Airport. It will also stop at several spots.

Taxi and rickshaw

You can find ride-sharing services like Uber and Careem in the city. There are also motorcycle rides offered by private companies.

Auto rickshaws are important for getting around Lahore. As of 2019, there were about 82,000 auto rickshaws and 65,000 motorcycle rickshaws. Motorcycle rickshaws, often called chingchi or chand gari, are cheaper and can carry several passengers. Auto rickshaws usually take one passenger or a small group. Since 2002, all auto rickshaws must use special fuel, and all-electric rickshaws started in 2023.

Intercity transportation

Railways

See also: Lahore Junction railway station

Lahore Junction Station is the main train station for Lahore and connects to many places in Northern Pakistan, such as Peshawar, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi. It also has long-distance trains to Karachi and Quetta. Lahore Cantonment Station also has some trains.

Buses

Lahore Badami Bagh Bus Terminal is a big bus station for trips outside the city. Lahore Jinnah Bus Terminal is another major bus station. There are also many private bus companies that leave from Band Road.

Airports

Further information: Allama Iqbal International Airport and Walton Airport

Allama Iqbal International Airport is the third busiest airport in Pakistan and is located on the east side of Lahore. The new terminal opened in 2003. It is named after the national poet, Muhammad Iqbal, and is a main airport for Pakistan International Airlines. Walton Airport provides smaller airplane services. Other nearby airports like Sialkot International Airport and Faisalabad International Airport can also be used.

Roads

See also: List of streets in Lahore

Lahore has many roads for cars and buses. Some important ones include:

• Municipal roads
  • Canal Road – a main road going north to south
• Provincial highways
  • Lahore Ring Road
  • Lahore–Kasur Road (Ferozepur Road)
  • Lahore–Raiwind Road (Raiwind Road)
  • Lahore–Sharaqpur Road (Sagianwala Bypass Road)
  • Lahore–Wagah Road
  • Grand Trunk Road (G.T Road )
• Federal highways
  • M-2 motorway
  • M-3 motorway
  • M-11 motorway
  • N-5 National Highway (Multan Road)
  • N-60 National Highway (Sargodha–Lahore road)

Government

Lahore is managed by a group called the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore. This group includes a mayor and nine deputy mayors, all chosen by voters. They help plan the city, make rules to keep the environment safe, and provide important services to people living there.

The mayor of Lahore is chosen every four years. Mubashir Javed became the mayor in 2016. The mayor helps run city services, works with groups that manage different parts of Lahore, and plans ways to make the city better and more livable.

Lahore District has nine zones, and each zone has many smaller areas called union councils. There are 274 of these union councils in total.

Festivals

The people of Lahore celebrate many festivals and events throughout the year, including Islamic, traditional Punjabi, Christian, and national holidays and festivals.

Some people decorate their houses and light candles to make the streets and houses bright during public holidays. Many of Lahore's Sufi shrines hold yearly festivals called urs to honor their saints. For example, the mausoleum of Ali al-Hujwiri at the Data Darbar shrine has an annual urs that attracts up to one million visitors per year. The Mela Chiraghan festival in Lahore takes place at the shrine of Madho Lal Hussain, while other large urs take place at the shrines of Bibi Pak Daman, and at the Shrine of Mian Mir. Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha are celebrated in the city with public buildings and shopping centers decorated in lights. The people of Lahore also remember the story of Imam Husayn at Karbala with big processions during the first ten days of the month of Muharram.

Basant is a traditional Punjabi festival that marks the coming of spring. Basant celebrations in Pakistan are centered in Lahore, and people from all over the country and abroad come to the city for the yearly festivities. Kite-flying competitions used to take place on city rooftops during Basant, while the Lahore Canal was decorated with floating lanterns.

Lahore's churches are beautifully decorated for Christmas and Easter celebrations. Shopping centers and public buildings also have Christmas decorations to celebrate the holiday, even though Christians make up only a small part of the city's population. See Religion in Lahore

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Lahore

Lahore is a popular place to visit in Pakistan. The old part of the city, called the Walled City of Lahore, was renewed in 2014 and has many special places chosen by UNESCO as important for the world. Some of the most famous spots are the Lahore Fort, which is next to the Walled City, and the beautiful Shalimar Gardens. Both of these places became UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1981.

The city has many important buildings from history, especially mosques. The Badshahi Mosque, built in 1673, was once the biggest mosque in the world. Another lovely mosque is the Wazir Khan Mosque, made in 1635, famous for its colorful tiles. There are also places important to different religions, like a big temple for Sikhs called the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh and two Hindu temples: the Krishna Temple and Valmiki Mandir.

Besides old buildings, Lahore also has modern places to visit, like the Defence Raya Golf Resort, and nice areas such as Gulberg, Iqbal Town, and the Nahr.

Main article: Lahori cuisine

Lahore has many well-known places for people to visit, including mosques, temples, and museums. Some of the popular spots are the Badshahi Mosque, Data Darbar Complex, Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Krishna Mandir, Lahore, Lahore Museum, and Wazir Khan Mosque.

There are also many tombs and memorials in the city, such as the Tomb of Allama Iqbal and the Tomb of Anarkali.

The Walled City has many old houses called havelis, showing beautiful Mughal and Sikh styles of building. Some famous ones are Chuna Mandi Havelis and Haveli Barood Khana.

Other places to see in Lahore include the Shahi Hammam, Alhamra Art Council, and Greater Iqbal Park.

Lahore has many old parts of the city, such as Anarkali, Badami Bagh, Baghbanpura, Begampura, Chuna Mandi, Heera Mandi, Mughalpura, Shahdara Bagh, and the Walled City of Lahore.

Education

Main article: Education in Lahore

See also: List of educational institutions in Lahore, List of special schools in Lahore, and List of libraries in Lahore

Lahore is often called Pakistan's educational capital because it has more colleges and universities than any other city in the country. The city helps create many professionals in areas like science, technology, IT, law, and medicine. Most of the well-known universities are public, but there are also many private ones now. Lahore is home to some of the oldest and best schools and colleges, including Aitchison College, Beaconhouse National University, and the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore.

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Lahore

Lahore has been home to many famous people throughout history. These individuals have made important contributions in various fields such as arts, science, and politics. The city continues to inspire and support people who aim to achieve great things.

Sports

Main article: List of sports venues in Lahore

Lahore is a big city for sports in Pakistan. It has many places where people can watch games, like Gaddafi Stadium, which can hold 27,000 fans. Lahore has also hosted important international sports events, such as the finals of the 1990 Men's Hockey World Cup and the 1996 Cricket World Cup. The main offices for many sports groups in Pakistan, like cricket, hockey, rugby, and football, are in Lahore.

Gaddafi Stadium is a special place for cricket games and was finished in 1959. There is also Punjab Stadium, which is used mostly for football matches. Lahore has several places to play golf, including the Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course and others. The Lahore Marathon is a big yearly race with thousands of runners from around the world.

Twin towns and sister cities

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Pakistan

Lahore has many friends around the world. These cities are called twin towns and sister cities. They work together to share ideas and help each other. Some of Lahore's friends include:

• Istanbul, Turkey (1975)
• Sariwon, North Korea (1988)
• Xi'an, Shaanxi, China (1992)
• Kortrijk, Belgium (1993)
• Fez, Morocco (1994)
• Bukhara, Uzbekistan (1995)
• Samarkand, Uzbekistan (1995)
• Isfahan, Iran (2004)
• Mashad, Iran (2006)
• Glasgow, Scotland (2006)
• Chicago, Illinois, United States (2007)
• Belgrade, Serbia (2007)
• Kraków, Poland (2007)
• Coimbra, Portugal (2007)
• Dushanbe, Tajikistan (2008)
• Córdoba, Spain (2008)
• Bogotá, Colombia (2009)
• Amol, Iran (2010)
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2015)

Awards

In 1966, the Government of Pakistan gave a special flag, called the Hilal-i-istaqlal, to the cities of Lahore, Sargodha, and Sialkot. This happened because these cities showed strong resistance during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Each year on Defence Day, which is on September 6, this flag is raised in these cities to honor the bravery and determination of the people who live there.