We will always remember 2020 as the year Covid struck. With a number of vaccines on the horizon it seems better times just might return. The human species, like other living ones, have this uncanny ability to survive, no matter what is thrown at them.

This column is dedicated to the past, present and future of Lahore. We invariably analyse the present according to our belief systems and limited knowledge of the past. That is why we seldom plan with an open mind. This leads us to forget the lessons learnt. But today we will put forth a wish list for our old city, for our existing city and for the city in the minds of our alleged ‘planners’. Over and above these three we will dwell into what our knowledge centres should be.

First, the old walled city. Ever since the Walled City of Lahore Authority was formed in 2012 it has tackled a few important monuments. It is an unenviable task that needs not only a lot of resources but also considerable imagination and skill. In this Lahore should be grateful to the Aga Khan for his unstinting support, little that it is ever acknowledged. The skills in conserving the Shahi Hammam have brought forth a monument of immense beauty. Work is afoot on the mosque of Wazir Khan. Earlier, they had restored Gali Surjan Singh inside Delhi Gate as a demonstration project so as to put before the people just what their city could look like if they so wished.

The magic of their work has had a demonstration effect, with more work being undertaken on other nearby mosques like the Soneri Masjid and other monuments and streets near Kotwali Chowk. The Rs30 crore earmarked for this massive undertaking, to my mind, is peanuts. But the Aga Khan Trust has taken on the task seeking funds from donors.

But first we must take our minds back and analyse the old city, especially as it goes back in antiquity. The walled city has two distinct portions, they being the Old City and the Ancient City, with the old engulfing the ancient. The ancient portion is the part between the western side of Shahalam Market Bazaar road and the eastern side of the Bhati Gate Bazaar road. The south is the same while the northern is the southern side of Taxali Bazaar road turning in before the grave of Ayaz, which lay outside the city then. This was the city when Mahmud the Afghan from Ghazni invaded and plundered our city.

The Old City is the one restored by Akbar the Mughal after his grandfather Babar had earlier looted the city taking away nearly 200,000 slaves for sale. Before him six other invaders, all Muslims, had done a similar demolition job starting from Mahmud. The effort that we see of the WCLA in restoring the old city is primarily confined to Delhi Gate and the bazaar that leads to the Lahore Fort’s Akbari Gate. They call this the ‘Shahi Guzargah’. One assumes the route of the royals to and from Delhi remains fixated in our minds.

My wish is that over the next nine years till the year 2030 the ancient portion of the walled city, or the original walled city, be completely restored. This will truly bring forth the true spirit of ancient Lahore. It should be cleansed of all the illegal markets that have sprung up and all old ‘mohallahs’ should be restored just like the Aga Khan Trust did for Gali Surjan Singh.

At the moment nothing has been done in this ancient portion of the walled city. If this task is undertaken, then it will be considered a lasting contribution. Money is a concern, but then imaginative donation seeking should be undertaken. This surely can be managed on a scale unimaginable. Lahore has that magic. But the fact is that our rulers, i.e. bureaucrats, do not wish so. Heritage is not on their wish list.

So, let us move in this brief piece to the colonial period Lahore. We have the areas outside the walled city within a two-mile radius. All these areas and colonies were once exceptionally posh areas. Areas like Rattigan Road, or Garhi Shahu, or the Railways colonies, or The Mall, even Model Town were very posh and livable. Roads were maintained and waste picked up every day while ‘mashkees’ watered the roads at five in the morning and again late in the evening to keep the dust at bay. Our current rulers are not attracted by such considerations.

My wish would be for a sizeable budget to be allocated to maintaining the roads and cleanliness of the colonial era areas. They are the mainstay of our population. Why rebuild new roads on old one. It is criminal. Simply maintain them on a continuous basis like they do in Europe and England, where road maintenance is a 12-months of the year job. The mantra should be “Maintain not Rebuild”.

Now to the new areas like Gulberg, Samanabad and the most recent DHA colonies. They are also falling apart. Maintenance is just not in our blood. It is to rebuild and make a monetary kill. Remaining clean is a religious obligation, but not on a communal basis, though we love quoting the Islamic saying that ‘cleanliness is the half of faith’.

Now let us move on the new Master Plan Lahore 2050, or even the Ravi Project. All it means is that excellent agricultural land will be gobbled up as the city expands horizontally. Today Lahore is the world’s 8th largest city. By 2050 it might well be the largest with a population of over seven crore, and mind you I am making a conservative estimate. Can Lahore then be managed? It would be unmanageable and filthy. The once city of gardens and colleges will be reduced to a cesspool. If it is contained and newer cities built with excellent transport joining Lahore, then, and only then, will it make sense. Otherwise, prepare for ‘Cesspool Lahore’.

What about the wish list for a more educated and aware Lahore in the years ahead? Is it possible that the proposal to shift the Punjab Archives, the world’s second largest with documents from Kabul to Delhi and Multan to Kashmir from the days of Akbar onward be shifted to the Freemasons Hall? Call it ‘The Punjab Archives’ building. At the moment it is hidden away within the Punjab Civil Secretariat, rotting in the old French-era horse stable. It will attract researchers from all over the world, as well as help our own scholars. But there is a hitch. The current chief minister just refuses to give up his fourth and least used office at Freemasons Hall. What can one say about the wise above?

What about our past? The Partition of 1947 was the greatest exodus in human history. The killings of hundreds of thousands within a short span of three weeks is unprecedented in history. The fact is that today we just do not care. There is a proposal with the chief secretary to convert the dilapidating Bradlaugh Hall into a Partition Museum, just as they have done in Amritsar’s Town Hall. If this happens it will speak volumes of our ability to act as an educated lot.

In the coming weeks we might see some decisions on how our ancient city, our old city, our colonial city, our new city and our city to be, as well as its treasures will be planned and executed. If it remains more of the same, then the dust will continue to gather on our past. But then that has been going on for the last 70 years.

Published in Dawn, Jannuary 3rd, 2021