Ms. Amna N. Ali
M. Omer Sheikh: 2003-02-0129 Friday
The Lahore Cantonment, the British residential
district of wide, tree-lined streets and white bungalows set in large, shaded
gardens, is the prettiest cantonment in
What is a
Cantonment?
Indo Pakistani cities have inherited from the British unique
spatial idiom known as the Cantonment.
The term Cantonment assigned by the British East India Company
to its military stations in South Asia first time about 200 years ago, is not
known outside this region any where in the world - not even in their own home land
except to those surviving British officers who have served in these territories
before independence. This civilian military mix has no parallel, as everywhere
there are exclusive military concentrations differently names as Forts,
Stations, complexes or other local names. In the concise Oxford Dictionary the
word Cantonment has been explained as “a lodging assigned to troops or a
permanent military station in
The earliest mention of Cantonment occurs in The Bengal
General Order 1789 relating to Barrackpore in which no private bungalows or
buildings could be erected within its limits without permission of the Commander
in Chief. Even after construction such buildings were not considered as private
properties. In Madras Presidency, besides Cantonments there were forts among
which St. George was the most prominent. As opposed to cantonments, private
buildings were permitted only beyond 1200 yards of the ditch of a fort.
Cantonments in the Subcontinent got established from 1850. These
were primarily formed for the British who did not want to mix up with the local
population for reasons of health, security and discipline of troops. Over time,
large number of faithful natives (shopkeepers, artisans, contractors etc.) had come
to reside in the Cantonments. They were in fact encouraged to do so in order to
provide amenities to officers and soldiers.
Before 1864, Cantonments were administered by the Military
authorities under various government orders. In 1864, for the first time, an
act was passed for improving the administration of Cantonments. Cantonment
magistrate under the Commanding Officer was appointed to administer the area.
The act also regulated funds granted by the government for the various
facilities.
In 1880 another act was passed to empower the cantonment authority
to impose taxes and legal status was given to the Cantonment Committee. The act
gave powers to impose fines and penalties for the non-payment of taxes and for
encroachments. After the First World War, far reaching political changes took
place in the subcontinent and it affected the administration of the cantonments
as well. The changes also became necessary because of the growth and
diversification of the local population. The considerable number of civilians who
had become an essential part of cantonments day-to-day life, had to be
associated with its working.
The Cantonments Act of 1924 was the landmark in the history
of Cantonments as it brought in its wake some sweeping changes. The Act
introduced the Representative Local Government system under which elected
representatives of the civil population became members of the Cantonment Boards.
The Boards were created as autonomous statutory local bodies for providing
civic services. The powers and functions of the cantonment board are synonymous
to Municipal Committees in the cities.
After the British army occupation of
Growing impatient for orders as to where to relocate the
troops, members of the
‘You want to know where the cantonments are to be, do you?’
Said Sir Charles, ‘follow me then,’ and as he spoke, he dug his spurs into his
horse and rode as hard as he could go, neck or nothing, across country some
three or four miles. At last the old General reined in his horse in the middle
of the plain, to all appearance at simple haphazard, and when the last of the
long pursuit came up, he cried from the midst of the smoking steeds and
breathless riders, ‘You asked me where the cantonments are to be; they are to
be here.’
(Reginald Bosworth Smith, Life of Lord Lawrence (
The riders had halted several miles east of
But this story should be read as such, i.e. a story because wasn’t it rather the steeds that were breathless and not their
riders! The story relates the founding moment of
Military engineers laid out the Cantonment at Mian Mir, or at
least conceived its layout. They designed its roads and fences, parade ground,
rifle range, polo and cricket grounds, the British and Native infantry
barracks, officers quarters, slaughter house, cavalry lines, Royal Artillery
Lines and Native bazaars; they laid out the sites for a Roman Catholic Chapel,
post office, the British and Native hospitals and – in a neo-classical flourish
– the oval shaped park at Mian Mir’s center, where the Anglican Church formed
one focal point and the tennis grounds the other. Once laid out, the major
north-south streets were adorned with the names of stalwarts of the empire (
Since independence,
Today in
But despite these factors, due to greater administrative
control in the Lahore Cantonment, its high income areas have not undergone the
same degree of commercialization and conversion. In the Cantonment the indigenous
and the modern institutions have generally remained separated. Thus the upper
class areas of the cantonment are some of the most well kept and salubrious sections
of the city. Since independence, the Cantonment had become even more a locus of
power and authority since
The attraction of the Cantonment as a clean, modern, orderly and
secure area has made it the prime target for development. There were substantial
tracts of open spaces and vacant lands, and it has been relatively easy to
sever a few parcels for the officers to build private homes! Cumulatively,
these new bungalows began to fill spaces and by 1980 the cantonment had become
a fairly built up area. The development has become an organized activity and by
1982 the Cantonment Cooperative Housing Society was about to complete the first
phase of developing a veritable township. Although the cantonment has been
swept by the property development fever, a sharp demarcation of upper and
modern versus lower and indigenous areas has been maintained.
Brief descriptions of the major areas of Cantonment as they
appear today are listed below.
Fortress Stadium.
Perhaps the most famous of all land marks in the Cantonment.
It is right next to the
Saddar Bazaar
It is situated between the Sarwar road and the Tufail road. The
bazaar caters to the needs of the lower income groups of the Cantonment. One of
the oldest bazaars of Cantonment, this is the place to go to when looking for
anything traditional.
R. A. Bazaar
The Royal Army Bazaar as the name signifies catered to the
needs of the Imperial soldiers and to all the people of the surrounding
localities these days.
The R. A. Bazaar in the British days also served as a Red
Light area and catered to the British Troops who had to be away from home for
months on end.
Airport & Railway
Station
There is an international airport in
The Cantonment also has a small railway station between he
Cavalry Ground
The Cavalry Ground in the very beginning served as, as the
name implies, a ground for the practice and training of the cavalries of the Royal
army. Later in 1968 the current Old Cavalry Ground was developed as an Officers
Colony. In 1988 it was extended. It is home to retired army officers and privileged
civilians these days. An adjacent major commercial area known as the
Defence
A recent addition to the Cantonment has been the Defence
Housing Authority formerly known as the Lahore Cantonment Cooperative Housing
Society (LCCHS). The project was initiated in 1977-78 and in 1982 the first
phase of development was completed. It is the only fully planned and maintained-according-to-plans
locality in
Strewn in between these areas are the army’s own HQ, the
guest houses, selection and recruitment centers, training grounds storage
facilities, farms, depots etc.
There are 4 main north-south roads in the Cantonment. Named
as
It is no wonder that the Cantonment happens to have one of
the highest real state prices in
Electricity and natural gas are available in the area. A
telephone exchange, post office, few police station and recreational facilities
are available to the residents. Quite a few hospitals cater to the medical
needs of the residents, the CMH or the
In the education sector, besides the private schools, there
are the Lahore Garrison Educational Institutions or L.G.E.I. A group of 7 schools
and colleges, it caters primarily to the education requirements of the army personnel’s
children.
The commercial areas include Fortress Stadium, the Saddar Bazaar,
the R. A. Bazaar, the
The Khayaban-e-Jinnah and the Walton road are also major thorough
fares and the Walton road specializes in automotive maintenance and
construction material.
Deforestation
Recently during the last civilian government, under the
Lahore Road Rehabilitation Project (LRRP), the main roads of Cantonment were reconstructed
according to international standards. This though very beneficial and
beautifying had the draw back that hundreds of trees had to be cut down to make
way for the road expansion. The greenery is an asset as the Cantonment is
basically built on a Garden City plan. Most of these trees had been planted when
the cantonment was initially constructed and were now over a hundred years old.
The Civilian Factor
The increase in civilian influx has definitely created
problems for the military setup.
A few years ago, the land under military use was only fenced
since the civilians were few. But now a days, major expansion of roads, the new
airport etc, have brought its share of insecurity for the military setup. As a
result all the military estate has been surrounded with walls and numerous
check posts have been set up at all pints in the cantonment.
Recently the Military setup had to embark on a drive to
demolish illegal Shrines set up on vacant military lands. Under the disguise of
holy places, some of these shrines were dens for drug dealers and other
anti-social factors.
There has been some talk of demolishing the concept of
Cantonments and moving the Military setup to Fortresses, but no headway has
been made into that direction, since huge military investments have been made
in the area. This would be bad sign for real estate as well because the current
status that the Cantonments real estate enjoys is primarily due to the military
presence.
Population
With the growth in urbanization and the booming population,
it is no wonder that Lahore Cantonment has outgrown its boundaries. The Cantonment
Board has repeatedly remarked its boundaries to swallow the ever popping new
communities. Eventually 2 years ago in December 1998, the Lahore Cantonment was
splint into two administrative Zones, namely the Lahore Cantonment and the
Walton Cantonment, with separate governing bodies. DHA and Cavalry Ground fall
under Walton Cantonment and the Saddar Bazaar and the rest of the areas are
part of the Lahore Cantonment.
This rising population has had its adverse impact in the
provision of basic amenities to the lesser developed areas of the Cantonment. Sewage,
water supply, road maintenance and street lights are still suffering despite
annual budgets of about Rs. 60 Million.
Not much can be said about the future of Lahore Cantonment.
The pace of development has been increasing. Unlike other areas where
development brings its shares of inadequacies, the trends in Cantonment are
encouraging. As long as there is a stable governing institution in the form of
Military supervised civilian Cantonment Board, it can be hoped that the
Cantonment will not lose its charm. Only time will tell.
References
Courtesy: Office of the Directorate of Military Lands &
Cantonments (ML&C)