It is ironic, if not sad, that a majority of people visiting historical monuments and sites have very little idea of its history. All over the world there is a growing trend to ‘educate’ visitors about what they are visiting.

In this piece we will narrate how three well-known sites in the United Kingdom and North America are handling this issue. As we were on a summer holiday in the mountainous Northern Wales, we visited two castles. The first being the famous Harlech Castle in Gwynedd near the Irish Sea. This Welsh castle was built to keep at bay an attack from the sea. It is an 11 century citadel with an amazing past. Without going into its history, let me narrate our experience of visiting the place. As soon as we entered we were ushered into a small dark room. Inside was a huge circular screen and a presentation with written narration and appropriate music told visitors of how English invaders were kept at bay, as also how ultimately the English got the upper hand. This presentation went over briefly of the history of the castle and how all the attacks took place. An explanation of damaged portions was forthcoming and by the time - a mere 10-minute experience - the presentation was over the visitors had a reasonable idea of the place and its history. Without doubt it was worth the effort.

The second fort visited was the famous Caernarfon Castle in North Wales, a 12th century monument and a very impressive one at that. It stands next to a river where yachts abound. This is the famous castle where the Prince of Wales is sworn in. It originally was a Welsh stronghold, but after repeated attacks the English Prince Edward won.

As we entered we were ushered into the small dark presentation room. There again was a very large circular screen and a 10-minute colourful presentation backed by loud music was shown. All the major attacks and events were shown and by the end it was clear that each portion of the castle was unique. As we went over the place we were reasonably aware of what each portion meant to the total place. Without doubt very educative. They ended with the actual coronation of Charles, the then Prince of Wales. It so happened that I had to fly over to California to present a talk on ‘Ancient Lahore’ at the Berkeley campus of the University of California. On this trip we visited the Spanish 16th century fort at the tip of the Bay of San Francisco. This fort was first taken over by the Mexicans as they crushed the Spaniard colonialists, and ultimately by the European colonialists in the guise of the United States of America.

The USA butchery of local Original Americans and also of African slaves were just about mentioned. The presentation was again on a very large circular screen with a lot of impressive visuals of the battles. As a visitor by the time we entered the fort its history was known to us. It was educative to say the least.

Let us now transpose these experiences to our own monuments in Lahore, and how almost all visitors have virtually no idea of its actual history. What most people do know is that it is a Mughal monument and that opposite it is the Badshahi Mosque. The details very few know. What is most admired are the beautiful structures within. The fort itself was originally a mud wall, samples of which can be traced at places. There is a need to mark out such samples so that its origin can be traced in the mind. There is a need to mark out traces of where the River Ravi - Iravati - once flowed and how the river determined to a great extent the current shape of the fort. Just how the famous ‘Mahabharata’ battle was raged and how the inhabitants of the fort and the walled city, then in several portions, fought off the 10 armies that attacked the then fort of Bharata. Just for the record the very word Bharat - or India - is derived from the inhabitants of Lahore. For that matter the word Hindu is because the Arab invaders were unable to pronounce the word Sindh and used the word ‘Hindu’. But let us concentrate on a few events, among the scores, if not hundreds, of events and/or people connected to the Lahore Fort.

Let us use just three examples that visitors might find useful to understand what went on at this amazing monument. Take the great Punjabi freedom fighter Abdullah Bhatti, known as Dulla Bhatti. Legend has it that his mother and the son of the Emperor Akbar were milk-fed by the same woman, namely Dulla Bhatti’s mother. As he and his father and grandfather had rebelled against excessive Mughal land taxed, and took to arms, Dulla was invited to discuss the issue by Akbar. Once in the fort he was arrested and brutally skinned alive. Like his father his body was hung up outside Akbari Gate to the East of the fort for people to see. It was a Mughal method to teach people a lesson. For six days there his body hung, and was secretly buried in today’s Miani Sahib Graveyard. Surely that heinous event needs to be described to all visitors and the place shown.

Next let us describe the events that led to the great Sikh Guru Arjan Singh. He was imprisoned inside Mochi Gate Bazaar, and when after three months he did not starve to death - thanks to Hazrat Mian Mir - he was paraded to the forth and put on hot iron plates for seven days. The Muslim saint pleaded with the emperor to let him have a bath, and so Guru Arjan Singh dived into the River Ravi and never returned.

Legend has it that he will emerge on the Day of Judgement. At that place inside the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is a well, and to my humble way of thinking it is the most important shrine inside the Samadhi. The place where he was tortured needs to be marked out and explained to visitors. Lastly, let us describe how in relatively recent times educated and honest persons opposed to Pakistani dictators were imprisoned and tortured, some to their deaths. The names of Nisar Husain, ZA Bhutto, Salman Taseer, and a host of journalists from all over the country, especially of Lahore.

Honesty has always been opposed by our formal and informal rulers. Surely there is a need for them to be mentioned in a presentation, and shown the places where they were tortured.

The Lahore Fort torture chambers is among the most notorious in the world. These are just three examples of what should be presented to all visitors to our famous - ‘infamous’ - fort. There are enough people who can point out to more, and also describe what happened. This would make visiting the fort worthwhile.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2024