We still call it the walled city, but then it was once walled and walled it was from ancient times … that is till when the sub-continent – sadly - was ‘partitioned’ and it ceased to be the city of old for its walls were stolen, brick by brick by brick.

Today the only mark of its location is that it is surrounded by a circular road called by that very name, unless our bureaucrats have some pious name for it now. A few centuries ago, the River Ravi flowed where the road now exists. The last gateway to have a drawbridge was at Mochi Gate. After the river meandered westward the drawbridge stood dry. Then in the 1920s, as with the bricks of the walls, it disappeared.

In this piece let us concentrate on the walls of the old city, for Akbar demolished the walls of ancient Lahore to create an old Lahore. Come 1947 and the traders from the east, mostly from Amritsar and its surroundings, came to a destroyed Lahore, and to reconstruct they stole all the bricks of the old city walls. Once a few palms were greased and everything was smooth again.

But should the ‘once walled’ city remain ‘wall-less’ like this forever? Over the years after talking to a lot of traders, their firm opinion is that walls will hinder the flow of goods to the wholesale markets within the old city. To this end the traders have created a 14th gate between Shahalam and Lohari gates, demolishing an ancient well next to a Hindu temple in Pappar Mandi. This is one of countless illegalities.

But let us take a brief look at how walled cities the world over has tackled this so-called obstruction. It might come as a surprise to our readers that almost every ancient city had, and still has walls. Ancient walls are a major tourist attraction now. I went through the internet and was myself shocked at how the world conceives ancient city walls.

First some Pakistani cities that have, or had, ancient walls around them. They are Hyderabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Shikarpur, Hazro, Quetta, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Bhera, Khudaabad, Bannu, Tulamba, Uch Sharif, Sehwan Sharif, Thatta, Karachi, Rohri, Mansura and Bela. I have not mentioned Mehrgarh or Mohenjodaro or Harappa or even Taxila, whose walls over time have been stolen.

Over half of the above-mentioned cities still have walls, mostly partly, surrounding them, though in all honesty most of the walls have their bricks stolen. The licence to steal and cheat seems, as the late Khalid Ahmed mentioned in an article, a national habit.

But having walls was the norm in protecting villages, towns and cities. Take North Africa as an example. In Morocco the cities of Fez and Marrakesh are known for their walls, and then there is Tunis and also Algiers, both walled cities on the Unesco list of protected walled cities. Libya has over 12 walled cities, all protected. But the most famous is Jerusalem those walls are ancient and legendary. The examples are endless, with the basic difference being that they are protected and cared for.

Take India as an example, for they have 57 walled cities all protected and cared for. Europe has scores of walled towns and cities, with the most being in Austria and Germany. Even the first USA cities were walled, with New York itself having a ‘Wall Street’ for that is where the wall stood once.

But let us get one concept clear. The role of a ‘walled city’ of Lahore, or Multan, or Bhera or of any ancient dwellings is not to protect the citizens of the enclosed area, but as a historic monument. Here a few laws need to be strictly applied, and applied they are not because of corruption. This is very clear, but never mentioned.

Take Multan, probably the oldest Punjab city which is nearly over 5,000-year old. Its fort and city walls are endangered and need immediate attention. All the initial invaders, especially the Aryans, or for that matter the initial Dravidians, came from that way as crossing the northern mountains had not been managed.

There is an urgent need to take care of this ancient city. Multan has its own traditions, and it needs a Multan Walled City Authority of its own. But then the myopic politics of Punjab run as they are from the federal capital, tends to downplay Multan’s importance. The monuments there are no less important than those of Lahore, though very different and ancient. It is the city where Muhammad bin Qasim the Arab invader came and ravaged and looted -- much before Mahmud ravished Lahore.

But take Bhera, the small walled city that was the centre of the Porus-Alexander clash. Ancient Greek historians tend to suggest that Alexander was neutralised, but then Western ‘educators’ suggest otherwise. This is a city that is fast crumbling, and its walls need to be immediately saved, let alone other historic monuments.

But nowhere else has the destruction of old Lahore’s walls had a greater effect. The laws of the land firmly suggest, let alone make it legally binding, that of the entire buildings not more than 15 per cent should be used for commercial use. The reality is that over 67 per cent are commercial. Given no walls and with over-commercialisation, the old city is not the place worth living in. No wonder the WCLA has started focussing on monument restoration and the initial objective of saving a crumbling old city has been forgotten.

The very first step in setting up the WCLA was an example set by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in restoring the Gali Surjan Singh. That today, 12 years later remains the sole example tourists are shown. It is beautiful not doubt, but to cover up a scheme to show tourists privately-owned havelis – all very beautiful no doubt – is dodging the main fundamental reason the WCLA was set up.

As one walks through old famous ‘mohallahs’ and ‘kartas’ and ‘galis’, one is astounded at how rapidly buildings are crumbling. At every corner traders have warehouses and shops which just should not be there. So what should be done?

As a first step a complete plan to rebuild the old wall must be finalised and put into action. As a second step large residential areas need to be demarcated and all commercial enterprises made to move to areas so allotted. One realises that now achieving 15 per cent commercial is not possible, but at least it should be brought down. A first step is needed now and not promises of a better tomorrow.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2024