Search This Blog

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Remembering Lahore of Yore

Khaled Ahmed, a Pakistani journalist, has written recently in the Indian Express about Lahore, as it was known to previous generations and the way in which recent events indicate its transformation into a very different city.

The portions that I found particularly to be of interest include:

"Lahore was known as a tolerant city with a big heart that set cultural trends. It published all the books and magazines that mattered in India and Burma. Jats and Rajputs belonging to Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities formed cross-communal “unionist” governments that disallowed entry into the province to both Congress and the Muslim League."
and

"The 1941 census had recorded 700,000 people in the city of Lahore out of which 240,000 were Hindus and Sikhs, who owned much of the city’s wealth. There were entire areas in the city, like Chuna Mandi and Shah Alami, which were non-Muslim."

2 comments:

Sidhusaaheb said...

Interesting insights about Lahore, thanks for sharing.
Mridula | Homepage | 04.03.09 – 9:26 am | #

——————————————————————————–

And look how the times changed !!!
MP | Homepage | 04.06.09 – 7:15 am | #

——————————————————————————–

pehle humne ghar bana kar faasle paide kiye, phir utha deen aur deewarein gharon ke darmiyaan..
How do we know | Homepage | 04.09.09 – 1:24 pm | #

——————————————————————————–

Hmm…sad…really sad.
Deep | Homepage | 04.09.09 – 2:18 pm | #

Sidhusaaheb said...

Lahoris are famous for their open-heartedness :)

You may have heard that “jinnay lahore nahi wekhya auh jamaa hii nayiin’”
Asma | Homepage | 05.20.09 – 11:57 am | #

 
www.HyperSmash.com