Garhi Shahu ( ur, ) (English: Fortress of Shahu) is a union council and historic neighbourhood in
Gulberg Tehsil of
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. Garhi Shahu is one of Lahore's oldest residential neighbourhoods outside the
Old City and is located near
Lahore Junction railway station
Lahore Junction Railway Station ( Urdu, pa, ) is the main railway station in Lahore, Pakistan. Construction commenced shortly after the 1857 War of Independence against British rule, and so was built in the style of a medieval castle with th ...
. Garhi Shahu is home to imposing government buildings like the huge Governor’s House, with colonial-era Indo-Gothic arches and Palladian colonnades, and the 1938 Punjab Assembly. In a modern building, the Alhamra Art Center stages drama and art exhibitions, while Al-Falah Theatre shows popular plays and comedy well known talented Hip-Hop Artist Mr Dawar also belongs from Garhi Shahu. The area is named after notorious 19th-century gang leader and robber baron Shahu.
History
Early history and etymology (pre-1880)
The area known today as Garhi Shahu was known as Mohallah Syedan during the 17th century. It was named after
Syed Jan Muhammad Hazuri, a resident religious scholar who is also the namesake of the
Hazuri Bagh
Hazuri Bagh ( ur, ) is a garden in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, bounded by the Lahore Fort to the east, Badshahi Mosque to the west, the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh to the north, and the Roshnai Gate to the south. The garden was built during the rei ...
.
The area was a prominent neighbourhood home to many religious intellectuals, including well-known
Baghdadi scholar Abu Khair who maintained a renowned
madrassah
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
there. After the fall of the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
, the area fell into anarchy. Mohallah Syedan was located in a lawless area between the domains of the
three Sikh kings in the 19th century.
During this time, a gangster named Shahu took power of this area. He had a gang of robber barons. He expropriated Abu Khair's sizable madrassah to maintain a storage house for stolen goods. The Sikhs, and then the British, would later refer to it Garhi Shahu, aka Shahu's Fortress or Fortalice.
British period and the Railway Station (1880-1947)
The railway system in the Indian subcontinent operated as a system of private companies, including the
Scinde Railway
The Scinde Railway was one of the pioneering railway companies that operated in Sind during the British Raj between 1855 and 1885.
History
The Scinde Railway was first established by deed of settlement in March 1855 and incorporated by the '' ...
, and public rail lines, such as the
Punjab Railway
The Punjab Railway was one of the pioneering railway companies that operated during the British Raj between 1855 and 1885 in Punjab.
History
The Punjab Railway was established shortly after the ''Scinde Railway Act'' of Parliament in July 1855 ...
that connected Lahore and
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
.
In 1886,
the British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
amalgamated all private and public rail systems as
The North Western State Railway to both secure the border against
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and meet the increased demand to transport raw materials.
The
Lahore Railway Station
Lahore Junction Railway Station (Urdu, pa, ) is the main railway station in Lahore, Pakistan. Construction commenced shortly after the 1857 War of Independence against British rule, and so was built in the style of a medieval castle with thick ...
, finished in 1860, became a prominent junction and railway workers were required.
Garhi Shahu neighbourhood was adjacent to the Lahore Railway Station, and so became home to large residential colonies for white British railway workers. Later, the British brought in upper-caste
Goan Catholics
Goan Catholics ( gom, Goenchem Katholik) are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians following the Roman Rite of worship from the Goa state, in the southern part of the Konkan region along the west coast of India. They are Konkan ...
to work the railway as professionals, including in the
Punjab Police and the railway police. Low-wage workers included
Punjabi Muslims
Punjabi Muslims ( pa, ) are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. Primarily geographically native to the Punjab province of Pakistan today, many have ancestry in the entire Punjab regio ...
and
Dalit Christians
The term Dalit Christian or Christian Dalit is used to describe those who have converted to Christianity from other forms of religion in India, and are still categorised as Dalits in Hindu, Christian, Muslim, and Sikh societies in South Asia. Hi ...
.
After
Partition
Partition may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive
* Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job
Software
* Partition (database), the division of a ...
, many Goan Catholics left, though Dalit Christians and Muslims would stay.
Post-partition history (1947-present)
The North Western State Railway became the
Pakistan Railways
Pakistan Railways ( ur, ) is the national, state-owned railway company of Pakistan. Founded in 1861 and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of track across Pakistan, stretching from Torkham to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger servi ...
after
1947. Today, the area still serves as residence to workers, professionals, and low-wage workers connected to the railway. The neighbourhood is primarily a lower-middle and middle class area, though it has some elite institutions like Aitchison College and Lahore Gymkhana.
Because of its centrality and historical significance, Garhi Shahu is home to many prominent institutions and places, while it is connected to significant thoroughfares around the city. Abu Khair's madrassah still stands today as a mosque.
The area has a
sizable minority Christian population as well. Other than the massive
Cathedral Church of The Resurrection
The Cathedral Church of the Resurrection, aka Lahore Cathedral, is a United Protestant cathedral in the heart of Lahore, Pakistan. It was built on The Mall in 1887, opposite the Lahore High Court.
The cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of L ...
on
Mall Road, the area has prominent churches like the Naulakha Presbyterian Church and St. Anthony Church on Empress Road.
There is also an important
Christian cemetery
A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with specifically Christian rites; typically, in consecrated ground. Until recent times Christians generally objected to cremation because it interfered with the concept of the resurrection of ...
adjacent to the area in the historic Hindu neighbourhood
Dharampura https://dharampuralahore.wordpress.com
'Dharampura'' ur, ), alternatively spelt 'Dharmapura'', is a neighbourhood located in Lahore. The Mughal emperor Akbar laid the foundation of this colony for Hindus as an alms-house in 1583. After 1947 Part ...
.
In 2012, the
Lahore Development Authority
Lahore Development Authority (LDA) is responsible for new planned development in Lahore, Pakistan. It also regulates and issues permits for new construction and housing projects, private houses, and commercial development. It also manages Lahor ...
took control of Gosha-e-Aman, a large Christian complex in the neighbourhood that included a covenant, a church, and small residences. The property was demolished, which ignited large-scale protests by civil society and the Christian community.
Notable places
* Abu Khair's Madrassah
*
Lahore Railway Station
Lahore Junction Railway Station (Urdu, pa, ) is the main railway station in Lahore, Pakistan. Construction commenced shortly after the 1857 War of Independence against British rule, and so was built in the style of a medieval castle with thick ...
*
Aitchison College
*
Convent of Jesus and Mary
* Main Market
*
Governor House
*
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
*
Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex
*
Burt Hall
*
Lahore Gymkhana
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 ...
*
Alhamra Arts Center
*
Bibi Pak Daman Shrine
*
Faletti's Hotel
*
Abdul Rehman Park
References
{{coord, 31, 34, N, 74, 21, E, display=title, region:PK_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki
Gulberg, Lahore