“For we were not always burdened by debt, dependent on foreign aid and handouts; in the stories we tell of ourselves we were not the crazed and destitute radicals you see on your television channels but rather saints and poets and — yes — conquering kings. We built the Royal Mosque and the Shalimar Gardens in this city, and we built the Lahore Fort with its mighty walls and wide ramp for our battle-elephants. And we did these things when your country was still a collection of thirteen small colonies, gnawing away at the edge of a continent.”
–Mohsin Hamid, Excerpt from Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007).
Today, Lahore, famously called ‘The City Of Gardens’, is almost in ruins if one cherishes the grand monuments and buildings it was home to. The recent Orange Line Project, with its high cost and construction goals, has brought greater scrutiny of its impact on the city’s landscape and increasing opposition from campaigners dedicated to conserving Lahore’s rich architectural heritage. The construction project will annex the land in front of the British era GPO building on the Mall. The garden of the Chauburji Mughal era monument on Multan Road will also be seized and the view of the building obscured. Campaigners claim the construction will also overshadow the walls of the legendary Shalimar Garden, The Old Anarkali market, Kapoorthala House, and the Supreme Court buildings are also under threat, along with Saint Andrew’s and Cathedral Churches. No body desires this, except the ruler of the land.