''Bagh-e-Jinnah'' ( ur, باغِ جناح, ,
Jinnah Garden), formerly known as Lawrence Gardens, is a historical park in the city of
Lahore,
Pakistan. The large
green space contains a
botanical
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
garden, Masjid Dar-ul-Islam, and
Quaid-e-Azam Library
The Quaid-e-Azam Library () is a public library in located within the Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The library was constructed in the mid 19th century during the British Raj comprises of Victorian era Lawrence and Montgomery Halls. ...
.
There are also
entertainment and
sports facilities within the park: an open-air theater, a restaurant,
tennis courts and the
Gymkhana
Gymkhana () ( ur, جِمخانہ, sd, جمخانه, hi, जिमख़ाना, as, জিমখানা, bn, জিমখানা) is a British Raj term which originally referred to a place of assembly. The meaning then altered to den ...
Cricket Ground
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by stri ...
. It is located on Lawrence Road next to
Lahore Zoo
Lahore Zoo ( Punjabi: , ur, لاہور چڑیا گھر) in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, established in 1872, one of the largest zoos in Pakistan. It is currently managed by the Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries department of the Government of Pakistan. ...
, directly across from the
Governor's House on
The Mall.
History
The site was originally occupied by the Agri-Horticultural Society of the Punjab and had been planned as a
botanical garden modelled on
Kew Gardens in
London.
[REHMAN, ABDUL. "CHANGING CONCEPTS OF GARDEN DESIGN IN LAHORE FROM MUGHAL TO CONTEMPORARY TIMES". Garden History, vol. 37, no. 2, 2009, pp. 205–217. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27821596. Accessed 19 February 2021.] The garden was named after
John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, who served as the first
Chief Commissioner
A chief commissioner is a commissioner of a high rank, usually in chief of several commissioners or similarly styled officers.
Colonial
In British India the gubernatorial style was chief commissioner in various (not all) provinces (often after be ...
and then
Lieutenant Governor of the
Punjab, and who later became
Viceroy of India from 1864 to 1869.
By 1860, when the first part of Lawrence Gardens had been laid out, the site had become a wilderness, partly used as a
menagerie
A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern zoological garden.
The term was first used in 17th-century France, in reference to the ...
and the rest as a pleasure ground for badminton, archery and cricket. The first tree planted in the garden was in January 1862 and that same year Lawrence Hall was constructed for holding public meetings and theatrical entertainment.
In 1866 Montgomery Hall was also completed and in 1868 the site enlarged through the purchase of land to the south of the gardens. By 1876 the garden contained 80,000 trees and shrubs of 600 different species including trees from the plains of India, Austria, Syria and southern Europe.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Lawrence Garden began selling plants it had grown to the general public. Fruit trees were imported from across the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
, including grapes and mulberries from
Kabul, peaches from
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
and plantain from
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commerc ...
.
In 1904 the Department of Agriculture became responsible for maintenance of the garden and since 1912 approximately seven acres have been managed by
Government College University, Lahore
The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002.
Overview
In 1864, Go ...
.
Following
Partition and the creation of
Pakistan, Lawrence Gardens was renamed Bagh-e-Jinnah in honour of
Muhammad Ali Jinnah. A statue of Lawrence, standing outside the nearby Lahore High Court, was removed in August 1951 and later moved to
Foyle and Londonderry College
Foyle College is a co-educational non-denominational voluntary grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland. The school's legal name is Foyle and Londonderry College. In 1976, two local schools, Foyle College and Londonderry High School, merged unde ...
in
Northern Ireland. Lawrence and Montgomery Halls were repurposed for the
Quaid-e-Azam Library
The Quaid-e-Azam Library () is a public library in located within the Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The library was constructed in the mid 19th century during the British Raj comprises of Victorian era Lawrence and Montgomery Halls. ...
in 1984.
Geography
The gardens are currently situated within . The site was originally larger, consisting of , however part of the land was given to
Lahore Zoo
Lahore Zoo ( Punjabi: , ur, لاہور چڑیا گھر) in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, established in 1872, one of the largest zoos in Pakistan. It is currently managed by the Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries department of the Government of Pakistan. ...
, and for local development.
Botany
It has almost 150 varieties of trees, 140 types of shrubs, 50 types of creepers, 30 palms, almost 100 succulent and about same indoor along with almost all varieties of annual flowers. The garden has a good name in Chrysanthemum shows, it was the first institute that started growing chrysanthemum and maximum no of varieties for it. It has 3 nurseries, 4 hilloaks in it.
Information and services
*Bagh-e-Jinnah has two libraries, Quaid-e-Azam library and Darusalam in it.
*Regarding collection of trees, shrubs and climbers a book has been published by Ch. Muhammad Tariq (DDA Jinnah Garden, Muhammad Ramzan Rafique (Agricultural Officer) and Dr. Muhammad Afzal (Instructor). (Flora of Jinnah Garden) This book contains common name, botanical name, flower time, type of plant (deciduous or evergreen), flowering color of each plant along with its picture. Furthermore, this book contains selective pictures from palm garden, annual flowers in this garden. This book can be obtained from the office of Jinnah Garden.
* The park receives a nostalgic mention of the 1970s and 1980s life in
Bano Qudsia
Bano Qudsia ( ur, ; 28 November 19284 February 2017), also known as Bano Aapa, was a Pakistani novelist, playwright and spiritualist. She wrote literature in Urdu, producing novels, dramas plays and short stories. Qudsia is best recognized ...
's
Urdu novel ''
Raja Gidh''.
* The Park has a Tomb of a saint named Peer Sakhi Abul Faizul Hassan commonly known as Baba Turat Muraad Shah, with a heavy number of visitors.
* The park has a track of 2.65 kilometers.
Cricket ground
Bagh-e-Jinnah park is a famous
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
ground since 1885, built for the entertainment of government officers and civil servants.
Lahore Gymkhana Club
The Lahore Gymkhana Club is a sports club founded in 1878 in Lahore, Pakistan. It offers sports facilities, including golf, swimming, cricket, squash, tennis, billiards, and a gymnasium, and organizes family concerts, lectures, and seminar
A se ...
had regular fixtures here. The ground played host to friendly matches, competitive fixtures and host to
Pakistan's first unofficial Test against the
West Indies in 1948. A few more unofficial
Tests
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
later, Bagh-e-Jinnah became a
Test venue when Pakistan took on
India in
1954–55.
New Zealand and West Indies also played a Test here before Bagh-e-Jinnah lost its Test status as it played second fiddle to
Gaddafi Stadium
Gaddafi Stadium ( ur, , translit=Qaẕẕāfī Isṭeḍiyam), previously known as Lahore Stadium is a cricket stadium in Lahore, Pakistan and the home ground of Lahore Qalandars. It is owned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). With a capaci ...
but still hosts tour matches involving visiting nations, especially
England.
Images
Below are some pictures of Bagh-e-Jinnah:
See also
*
Bāgh
*
List of parks and gardens in Lahore
__NOTOC__
This is a list of popular parks and gardens in Lahore, often called the ''city of gardens''.
Parks and gardens
* Shahdara Bagh
* Shalimar Gardens
* Hazuri Bagh
* Lawrence Garden
* Islamia Park
* Model Town Park
* Nasir Bagh
* Model Town ...
*
List of parks and gardens in Pakistan
*
List of parks and gardens in Karachi {{Short description, none
The following is a list of parks and gardens in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Many of them are maintained by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.
Public parks
* 5B Park (Phool Bagh), North Nazimabad Town
* Afza Altaf Park
* ...
References
External links
Bagh-e-Jinnahat CricketArchive
at
Cricinfo
The Lahore Gymkhana* Bagh-e-Jinnah (Lahore Gymkhana)
WorldStadia
{{LahoreTopics
Lahore
Gardens in Pakistan
Botanical gardens in Pakistan
Parks in Pakistan
Test cricket grounds in Pakistan
Tourist attractions in Lahore
Cricket grounds in Pakistan
The Mall, Lahore
Memorials to Muhammad Ali Jinnah