Brief
History:
The city next crops up in literature in connection with
the campaigns of the Turkish dynast Mahmud of Ghazni
against the Rajas of Lahore between I00I and I008. Around
this time it established itself as the capital of the
Punjab and thereafter began to play an important and
growing role as a centre of Muslim power and influence
in the subcontinent. Its heyday was the Mughal era from
the early sixteenth century onwards and, as Mughal power
began to decline in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
Lahore suffered a concomitant period of ignominy and
political eclipse. It was here, at the beginning of
the nineteenth century, that the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh
declared himself Maharajah of the Punjab and allowed
his troops to desecrate many of the city's beautiful
Islamic shrines- including the Badshahi Mosque which
was, for a while, converted into a powder magazine.
By the time British occupied Lahore in I849, one writer
moved to describe the city as 'a mere expanse of crumbling
ruins'.
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Happily,
this was an exaggeration and today the great buildings
laid down by the long-vanished Mughal emperors may
be seen in much of their original splendour. All
the adverse influences since then seem to have been
washed away, like sediment carried off by a flood,
leaving behind the fundamental character and beauty
of this old Islamic settlement. |
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Fittingly, it was here in
I940 that the Muslim League made its first formal demand
for the establishment of a Muslim homeland. A towering
and graceful monument, the Minar-e-Pakistan (shown above.
Please click on the picture for a more detailed view)
now stands on the site of the passing of the Pakistan
Resolution.
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Modern
Lahore:
Lahore is still growing and developing at very
fast pace with new shopping Malls and Plazas.
Old buildings become replaced by modern concrete
architecture. Modern sites of interest include
the Minar-i-Pakistan which marks the spot where
the Pakistan Resolution was passed on 23rd March
1940. It is located in lqbal Park. The WAPDA House
building is, an example of a modern office block,
with a glass dome and a roof garden.
Jallo National Park is more recent.
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It is also a recreational
and picnic site, with a zoo, children's play area, a lake
with motor and rowing boats, and other kinds of amusement.
Historical Places:
Lahore Fort, The Mausoleum of Jahangir, The Badshahi
Masjid, Wazir Khan's Mosque, Shalimar Garden and Thirteen
Gates of Lahore.
Parks & Gardens:
lqbal Park, Hazuri Bagh, Jallo National Park, Model
Town Park and Race Course Park.
Museum:
Lahore Central Museum
