The Punjab government in Pakistan recently approved the plan to restore the names of several streets and roads in Lahore. The move is aimed at reviving the city’s pre-Partition heritage.
“The Punjab Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, a few days ago had approved a plan to restore the original and historical names of various streets and roads in Lahore and its neighbourhood,” PTI quoted a Punjab government official as saying.
Notably, several historic streets, alleys and roads in Lahore were renamed in the past few decades, replacing British-era as well as Hindu-associated names with those of Islamic, Pakistani or local figures.
The official said that the latest decision by the government was taken to revive the cultural identity and heritage of the historical city.
Further, the official informed that the initiative was led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who serves as the head of the Lahore Heritage Areas Revival project. The proposal received an approval from the Punjab cabinet in Pakistan last week.
What has changed?
According to PTI, several historic streets and roads in Lahore have been renamed by successive government in the past. Among these include Queen’s Road, Jail Road, Davies Road, Lawrence Road, Empress Road, Krishan Nagar, Santnagar, Dharampura, Brandreth Road, Ram Gali, Tempbell Street, Laxmi Chowk, Jain Mandir Road, Kumharpura, Mohan Lal Bazaar, Sundar Das Road, Bhagwan Pura, Shanti Nagar and Outfall Road.
The name of the Queen’s Road was changed to Fatima Jinnah Road, while Jail Road became Allama Iqbal Road, Davies Road got renamed as Sir Aga Khan Road, Lawrence Road became Bagh-i-Jinnah Road, and Empress Road was renamed Shahrah-i-Abdul Hameed bin Badees.
Also, Krishan Nagar got changed to Islampura, Santnagar became Sunnat Nagar, Dharampura was changed to Mustafabad, Brandreth Road to Nishtar Road as well as Temple Street to Hameed Nizami Road.
Among others included Laxmi Chowk to Maulana Zafar Ali Khan Chowk, Jain Mandir Road to Babri Masjid Chowk, Ram Gali to Rehman Gali, Kumharpura to Ghaziabad, and Outfall Road to Jeelani Road, according to reports.
Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif has even proposed the restoration of three cricket grounds along with a traditional ‘akhara’ (wrestling arena) at Minto Park (Greater Iqbal Park). This is being widely perceived as a damage control strategy.
This comes after Nawaz Sharif’s brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, faced criticism for demolishing three historical cricket grounds, key areas under cricket clubs as well as a wrestling arena under an urban development programme during his tenure as Punjab CM in 2015.