Majid Sheikh

Harking back: Lahore Fort and most ancient highway of the land

Our readers often ask just ‘which is the oldest inhabited place in the ancient city of Lahore?’ The answer is... Published 01 Mar, 2023 07:03am

Harking Back: It’s amazing how Lahore is part of foreign folk history

It was surprising how at the least expected of places and from the least known person the mention of Lahore brings... Published 05 Feb, 2023 05:35am

Two important historic structures that are ignored

Almost every tourist to the Lahore Fort and the Badshahi Mosque walk through in awe of these massive structures,... Published 01 Jan, 2023 07:05am

How brutal Huns massacred the Buddhist Lahore

It was merely 1,500 years ago that Lahore and its entire surrounding lands were ruled by a fierce barbarian Hun... Published 25 Dec, 2022 07:04am

Sinking old Lahore of Prince Lava and the rising surface

If ever there was a starting point if you wish to research the origins of the city of Lahore, surely it has to be ... Published 18 Dec, 2022 04:39am

Harking back: A ‘crusader’ who backed the poor of rural Punjab

There was a time when honesty mattered, and was even given the highest honour. Just over 77 years ago in New Garden... Published 04 Dec, 2022 07:08am

Harking Back: The ancient roots of our split literary traditions

The ‘on-off’ then ‘on with cuts’ then ‘off’ ban on the film Joyland in politically mysterious... Published 27 Nov, 2022 07:05am

Harking Back: Lahore’s world of bewildering beliefs and superstitions

Almost every country in this world has varying degrees of beliefs and superstitions. Lahore is no exception. If you... Published 20 Nov, 2022 06:59am

Harking Back: The beginning of Lahore … before the beginning

Last week at the conclusion of the climate change conference in Egypt, a handout was issued about how the first... Published 13 Nov, 2022 07:04am

harking back: The two great Sikh gurus of Chuna Mandi

Of the ten Sikh gurus two belonged to Lahore, more specifically to Chuna Mandi. Their contribution to their religion... Published 08 Nov, 2022 07:00am

Harking Back: How Lahore changed forever 1,000 years ago

One thousand years ago foreign invaders approached Lahore with the intention of plundering and killing all its... Published 30 Oct, 2022 07:18am

Harking Back: Valmiki’s temple could be Lahore’s oldest structure

We often ponder just which is the oldest structure of Lahore? This is a loaded question, but the answers exist at... Published 18 Oct, 2022 07:06am

harking back: The first master builder of British-era Lahore

Of the four outstanding builders of the British-era Lahore, Bhai Ram Singh the amazing architect, and Ganga Ram the... Published 09 Oct, 2022 07:08am

Harking Back: The abiding contribution of Sir Ganga Ram

Once the British had taken over from the crumbling Sikh Empire in 1849, it took them another 50 years to develop... Published 02 Oct, 2022 06:48am

Harking Back: Of a red letter-box and walks along old and the new paths

The great poet of Peru and Nobel Prize winner, Pablo Neruda, once said that if humans do not notice the small things... Published 25 Sep, 2022 04:06am

Harking Back: How the British destroyed the old aristocracy

Every power dispensation survives because of the establishment they create. Change is therefore, naturally, ... Published 18 Sep, 2022 04:14am

Harking Back: City of learning slowly ‘unlearns’ … to our peril

In these testing times have you ever been to a library, or an archives collection, of even a museum? Attendance is a... Published 12 Sep, 2022 04:43am

Harking Back: Of ‘grievous betrayals’ that cost us our freedoms

It seems like a familiar theme -- the betrayal to powers foreign. It seems like the story, rightly or incorrectly, ... Published 28 Aug, 2022 04:22am

Harking back: Bengalis who came with the British to rule us

Many eons ago when we lived near Saddar Bazaar in the Lahore Cantonment, one noticed that most markets and roads had... Published 21 Aug, 2022 04:33am

Harking Back: Celebrating ‘freedom’ without forgetting its sorrow

Today is the 75th anniversary of the birth of Pakistan. It is an occasion where we celebrate our ‘freedom’ from... Published 14 Aug, 2022 05:03am