Nasreddin Murat-Khan ِ

ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...

: ; tr, Nasreddin Murat-han ; russian: Насреддин Муратханов

: ; ur, ِ

: (1904 – 15 October 1970) was a Russian-born Pakistani architect and civil engineer. He is renowned for designing the iconic national monument, the

Minar-e-Pakistan Minar E Pakistan ( ur, , literally "Tower of Pakistan") is a tower located in Lahore, Pakistan. The tower was built between 1960 and 1968 on the site where the All-India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution (which was later called the Pak ...

. He was also the architect of the

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 capacit ...

and several other notable buildings and structures.

Life

Early life

Murat-Khan was born in 1904 to a Turkic Kumyk Muslim family, in the town of

Buynaksk Buynaksk (russian: Буйна́кск; kum, Шура / Темирхан-Шура, ''Şura / Temirxan-Şura'') is a town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located at the foothills of the Greater Caucasus on the Shura-Ozen River, southwest of ...

in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

region of

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

located in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(modern-day

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

). In 1930, he obtained his degree of

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

from the Institute of Architects, Town Planners and Civil Engineers at

Leningrad State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

(now the Saint-Petersburg State University). Later, he also obtained degrees of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

and

town planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

from the same university.

Exile

Murat-Khan was keen to free the Muslim Caucasus region from Soviet control. As a result, he had to flee from Dagestan— in fear of his life—to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

where he landed sometime in 1944. He stayed as a refugee in one of the camps established by the

UNRRA United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, later moving to Mittenwald where he married Hamida Akmut, a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

refugee, in 1946.

Pakistan

After the six-year-long exile in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, Murat-Khan migrated with his family to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, in 1950.

Death

Murat-Khan died of a heart attack on 15 October 1970.

Professional career

In 1930, Nasreddin held a variety of posts in Dagestan and in Leningrad. He was arrested during the " Engineers' Purges" undertaken by

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

, but was re-instated in February 1940 as Chief Engineer and Chief Architect of the

Pyatigorsk Pyatigorsk (russian: Пятиго́рск; Circassian: Псыхуабэ, ''Psıxwabæ'') is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia located on the Podkumok River, about from the town of Mineralnye Vody where there is an international airport and about ...

branch of the North Caucasian Project Trust. He later served as Chief Engineer and Director of the North Caucasian Project Trust in Woroschilowsk,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, till August 1942. Murat-Khan planned and designed many buildings of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, which includes a Lenin Memorial. In 1950, after his migration to Pakistan, he was hired as Executive Engineer for PWD at Wah Ordinance Factory. He then was reassigned in 1951 as Special Architect, B&R Deptt., PWD, where he designed the buildings of the

Nishtar Hospital Nishtar Hospital is a teaching hospital of Nishtar Medical University, located in Multan, Pakistan. It is a tertiary care hospital, owned by the Government of Punjab. It serves a large population of South Punjab. Accredited hospital Nishtar ...

and the

Nishtar Medical College Nishtar Medical University () (formerly Nishtar Medical College) is a public sector health sciences university located in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is one of the oldest medical institutions established after the creation of Pakistan. It offer ...

. In addition, he also prepared the designs of the Mansehra Mental Hospital, the Sahala Police Training College, the Sinclair Hall in

Forman Christian College Forman Christian College is an private liberal arts university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church. The university follows an American-style curriculum. Founded in 1864 by American ...

, the

in Lahore (completed in 1959 and initially called the Lahore Stadium) and the Textile College in Faisalabad among many other buildings, townships, residences and other structures.

Minar-e-Pakistan

Murat-Khan's most notable and memorable work is his design of the Minar-e-Pakistan monument, located at

Minto Park Minto Park is a park in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It occupies a full city block, meeting Elgin Street on the park's west side, Gilmour Street on the north, Cartier Street on the east, and Lewis Street on the south. It contains picnic ...

(now Iqbal Park) in the

walled city A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

of Lahore. The foundation stone of Minar-e-Pakistan was laid at Minto Park on 23 March 1960. In 1963, President Ayub Khan reportedly summoned Murat-Khan to his office and took out a

fountain pen A fountain pen is a writing instrument which uses a metal nib to apply a water-based ink to paper. It is distinguished from earlier dip pens by using an internal reservoir to hold ink, eliminating the need to repeatedly dip the pen in an inkw ...

from his pocket, placed it upright on his desk and instructed Murat-Khan to "build me a monument like this." Murat-Khan was very keen on the supervision of the construction and the design. He frequently visited the site to inspect building material, construction quality. He did not take his prescribed fee of Rs. 250,000 and instead donated the amount to the fund created for financing the construction of the Minar-e-Pakistan. The construction of the tower took eight years and by 31 October 1968, the

minar A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally ...

was completed at a cost of Rs. 7.5 million.

Awards

In recognition of Murat-Khan's services, the then

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

, conferred on him the '' Tamghah-yi Imtiyaz'' (Medal of Excellence) in 1963.

Views and legacy

Murat-Khan was of the view that each

local body Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

should have a chief architect of its own. He was also a proponent of

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ar ...

, advocating the retention of a national character in Pakistani architecture.

Gallery

File:Minar -e Pakistan at Night.jpeg, Minar-e-Pakistan at night File:Sinclair Hall.jpg, Sinclair Hall in

, Lahore File:Gaddafi Stadium (Lahore).jpg,

, Lahore File:Nishtarmedicalcollege01.jpg, Buildings of

, Multan

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murat-Khan, Nasreddin 1904 births 1970 deaths 20th-century Pakistani architects Architects from Lahore Engineers from Lahore Kumyks Naturalised citizens of Pakistan Pakistani civil engineers Pakistani people of Dagestani descent Pakistani people of Turkic descent Pakistani urban planners People from Dagestan Recipients of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Saint Petersburg State University alumni Soviet architects Soviet civil engineers 20th-century engineers Soviet defectors Soviet emigrants to Germany Soviet emigrants to Pakistan Soviet Muslims Soviet urban planners