The National History Museum is a digital museum located in

Greater Iqbal Park Greater Iqbal Park ( ur, ), formerly Minto Park, is an urban park located in the outskirts of the Walled City in Lahore, Pakistan. Before current renovations and expansion, its name was Iqbal Park. Noted as the home of Minar-e-Pakistan'','' t ...

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 ...

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 ...

. A project of the Parks and Horticulture Authority Lahore (under the Government of Punjab), it was inaugurated on 17 April 2018 by

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: , ; born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022. He is the current president of ...

. Citizens Archives Pakistan, a

not-for-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, was selected to

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

the project. It is the first digital museum of Pakistan. The museum consists of five sections, displaying various aspects of the

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the pe ...

, and the

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, and sport of Pakistan.

History

On 29 January 2014, the Punjab government approved the renovation and landscaping of

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 ...

and Circular Gardens area in the 28th meeting of the Provincial Development Working Party. The new park was to be known as the Greater Iqbal Park. After several delays, the first phase of the project was inaugurated on 17 December 2016 by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

. The second phase involved the establishment of a national history museum at the northern end of the park. On 17 April 2018, Chief Minister of Punjab Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the museum. The project was built in a period of 14 months at a cost of Rs. 300 million. For the first few weeks, it hosted public school tours in partnership with the Punjab School Education Department. It was opened for public on 1 July 2018.

Collections

The museum's collections have been divided into five sections, each focusing on a different aspect of Pakistan's culture and history.

Hall-1

Hall-1 is devoted to the history of the

subcontinent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

, from the arrival of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

to major events of the Pakistan Movement, including audiovisual displays of the

Lahore Resolution The Lahore Resolution ( ur, , ''Qarardad-e-Lahore''; Bengali: লাহোর প্রস্তাব, ''Lahor Prostab''), also called Pakistan resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlul ...

(which was passed at Minar-e-Pakistan also located inside the Greater Iqbal Park), the Gandhi-Jinnah talks of 1944, the 3 June Plan, and the

Indian Independence Act 1947 The Indian Independence Act 1947 947 CHAPTER 30 10 and 11 Geo 6is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received Royal Assent on 18 J ...

Hall-2

This section focuses on the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, and includes oral accounts of the people who migrated to Pakistan as a part of the largest mass migration in human history, as well as a video display showing the communal riots of 1947.

Hall-3

Hall-3 shows the major developments which took place in the nascent country, including the formation of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

and the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. Dioramas of

Wagah railway station Wagah railway station (Urdu and pa, ) is located in Wagah, Punjab, Pakistan. It is the last station in Pakistan on the Lahore–Wagah Branch Line and serves as the border station before crossing into India. Wagah serves as a sub-urban station ...

and post-independence refugee camps are also present. Visitors can also observe the difficulties experienced by the migrants through a 3-D

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

display. A photo booth can also be used to take a photograph with the

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

and other

Founding Fathers The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

Hall-4

The popular culture of Pakistan is displayed in Hall-4, and encompasses

Lollywood Lollywood ( ur, , translit=lâli vuḍ) refers to Pakistan's film industry based in Lahore, previously the base for both Punjabi and Urdu language film production. Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema since the partition of ...

, the evolution of Pakistani music, and traditional

handicrafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

. Visitors can also watch clips from famous

Pakistani films Cinema of Pakistan, popularly known as Lollywood ( ur, ), refers to the film industry, filmmaking industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities – Karachi, Lahore, and ...

, and listen to classic songs.

Hall-5

This section showcases the sports history of Pakistan. Portraits and busts of famous personalities of the country are also present.

References

External links

Official website

National History Museum
on

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National History Museum
on

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{{Cultural heritage sites in Punjab, Pakistan, state=autocollapse Museums in Punjab, Pakistan Walled City of Lahore Buildings and structures in Lahore Tourist attractions in Lahore 2018 establishments in Pakistan