Minar-e-Pakistan
{{Short description|Monument in Lahore, Pakistan}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox historic building
| name = Minar-e-Pakistan
| native_name = {{nq|مینارِ پاکستان}}
| status = National Tower of Pakistan
| alternate_names = Pakistan Day Memorial
Tower of Pakistan
Yadgar-e-Pakistan
| image = Minar e Pakistan 2021.jpg
| location = Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
| address = Greater Iqbal Park, Circular Road, Lahore
| coordinates = {{coord|31.5925|74.3095|region:PK_source:dewiki|display=inline,title}}
| architectural_style = Minaret, Mughal, Modern
| start_date = {{Start date and age|1960|03|23|df=yes}}
| completion_date = {{Start date and age|1968|03|22|df=yes}}
| architect = Nasreddin Murat-Khan
| map_type = Pakistan Lahore#Punjab Pakistan#Pakistan
| map_caption = Location within Lahore##Location within Punjab##Location within Pakistan
| building_type = Public monument
| antenna_spire =
| roof = {{convert|70|m|ft}}
| structural_engineer =
| services_engineer =
| main_contractor = Mian Abdul Khaliq
}}
Minar-e-Pakistan ({{langx|ur|{{nq|مینارِ پاکستان}}|Mīnār-e-Pākistān}}; {{lit|Tower of Pakistan}}) is a public monument tower located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The tower was built during 1960–1968 on the site where on 23 March 1940, the All-India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution which was later called the Pakistan Resolution – the first official call for a separate and independent homeland for the Muslims of British India, as espoused by the two-nation theory. The resolution eventually helped lead to the creation of Pakistan in 1947.{{cite book |last1=Talbot |first1=Ian |title=Pakistan, A Modern History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBs0HdpKuaQC |date=1998 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |isbn=978-03-12-21606-1 |page=66 |quote=Just north of the massive Alamgiri gate of Akbar's Lahore Fort, the 1960s modernist concrete structure of the Minar-e-Pakistan rises from its flower vase like base in Iqbal Park. It marks the place where the Pakistan resolution was passed on 23 March 1940 at the Annual Session of the All-India Muslim League (AIML).}}
The tower is located in the middle of an urban park, called the Greater Iqbal Park.{{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Ahmed Z.|date=2013-03-01|title=On Design and Politics of Co-producing Public Space: The Long Marches and the Reincarnation of the 'Forecourt' of the Pakistani Nation|url=http://openurl.ingenta.com/content/xref?genre=article&issn=2045-5895&volume=2&issue=1&spage=125|journal=International Journal of Islamic Architecture|language=en|volume=2|issue=1|pages=125–156|doi=10.1386/ijia.2.1.125_1|s2cid=152739234 }}
Construction
File:FoundationStone-Minar-e-Pakistan.png
On 23 March 1960, the foundation stone of the tower was laid by Akhter Husain, the then–governor of West Pakistan. The construction of the tower took eight years, and was completed on 22 March 1968 at an estimated cost of seven million. The money was collected by imposing an additional tax on cinema and horse racing tickets at the demand of the governor.{{cite news |title=مینارِ پاکستان: قراردادِ لاہور کی یادگار جس کی تعمیر کی رقم سینما گھروں اور گھڑ دوڑ کی ٹکٹوں سے جمع کی گئی |trans-title=Minar-e-Pakistan: A monument to the Lahore Resolution, built with money raised from cinema and horse racing tickets |url=https://www.bbc.com/urdu/pakistan-57966829 |access-date=24 March 2025 |work=BBC Urdu |date=26 July 2021 |language=ur}}
Mian Abdul Khaliq was assigned as the main contractor for the project.{{cite news |last1=Rifat |first1=M. Zahid |title=Revisiting Minar-i-Pakistan |url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/03/17/revisiting-minar-i-pakistan/ |access-date=26 March 2025 |work=Pakistan Today |date=17 March 2022}} Mukhtar Masood, a well-known writer and the then–deputy commissioner of Lahore, was one of the members who undertook important role for the completion of the project.{{cite news |last1=Parekh |first1=Rauf |title=Literary Notes: Mukhtar Masood: a stylish and patriotic prose writer of Urdu |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1327610 |work=Dawn |date=18 April 2017 |language=en}}
Design
File:Minar-e-Pakistan by ZILL NIAZI 3.jpg
The tower reflects a blend of Mughal, Islamic and modern architecture.{{cite journal |last1=Devji |first1=Faisal |title=An Elephant in the Room |journal=Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East |date=2019 |volume=39 |issue=1 |page=229 |doi=10.1215/1089201X-7493931 |publisher=Duke University Press |quote=...the most important national monument of another Mughal capital, Lahore, is a modern tower called the Minar-e-Pakistan located outside the old city walls. Indeed, all of Pakistan's iconic national monuments are modern and even modernist, from the Minar to Jinnah's tomb in Karachi and the Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad.}}{{Cite news |title=Minar-e-Pakistan: Re-living history |url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/03/24/minar-e-pakistan-re-living-history/ |work=Pakistan Today |date=24 March 2019 |access-date=25 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408033516/https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/03/24/minar-e-pakistan-re-living-history/ |archive-date=8 April 2019}} The tower was designed and supervised by, Nasreddin Murat-Khan, a Russian-born Pakistani architect and civil engineer.{{cite news|title=Remembrance: The man behind the masterpiece|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/859634/remembrance-the-man-behind-the-masterpiece |date=22 March 2009 |access-date=5 December 2012|newspaper=Dawn|author=Meral Murat Khan}}
The tower base is shaped like a flower. The area surrounding the monument is covered with parks and flowers. The location is often used for political and religious events. It is also known as the "Liberty Tower of Pakistan".
In the past, the tower was used to provide a panoramic view to visitors who could access the top by climbing up the spiral stairs or using an elevator. However, this facility was later withdrawn due to a few suicide incidents.{{cite news |last1=Hanif |first1=Intikhab |title=A park in search of a resolution |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/238767/a-park-in-search-of-a-resolution |access-date=24 March 2025 |work=Dawn |date=23 March 2007 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Man jumps from Minar-i-Pakistan |url=https://beta.dawn.com/news/99485/man-jumps-from-minar-i-pakistan |access-date=24 March 2025 |work=Dawn |date=29 April 2003 |language=en}}
= Structure =
File:Top Aerial View of Minar e Pakistan.jpg
The base of the tower rises {{convert|8|m}} from the ground while the tower stands at a height of {{convert|62|m}} on the base. This makes the total height of the tower around {{convert|70|m}} above the ground. The eight unfolding petals of the flower-like base are {{convert|9|m}} high. The circular diameter of the tower is about {{convert|97.5|m}}. The rostrum is built of patterned tiles, and faces Badshahi Mosque. The base consists of four platforms that are made of different types of marble and stones. To symbolise the humble beginning of the struggle for freedom, the first platform is built with uncut stones from Taxila, the second platform is made of hammer-dressed stones, and the third platform is made of chiselled stones. The polished white marble used in the fourth and final platform of the base depicts the success of the Pakistan Movement.{{Cite news |last=Jamal |first=Amna Nasir |date=March 23, 2002 |title=The Pakistan Day memorial |pages=Dawn Young World |work=Dawn |url=http://www.dawn.com/weekly//yworld/archive/020323/yworld4.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=12 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070328210349/http://www.dawn.com/weekly//yworld/archive/020323/yworld4.htm |archive-date=March 28, 2007}}{{Cite web |last1=Adnan |first1=Imran |title=Minar-e-Pakistan gets major facelift |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1215587/years-construction-minar-e-pakistan-gets-major-facelift |date=30 October 2016 |access-date=26 March 2022 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}} The structure uses the imagery of crescents, stars and signs that symbolise the culture of Pakistan, similarly seen in the national flag of the country.
= Inscriptions =
{{multiple image
| align = right
| width1 = 110
| image1 = Inside View of Minar-e-Pakistan - 3.jpg
| caption1 =A view of base of the structure
| width2 = 111
| image2 = Inside View of Minar-e-Pakistan.jpg
| caption2 = Texts over marble plaques
}}
At the base, there are floral inscriptions on ten converging white marble commemorative plaques. The inscriptions include the text of the Lahore Resolution in Urdu, Bengali and English, as well as the Delhi Resolution's text, which was passed on 9 April 1946. On different plaques, Quranic verses and 99 names of Allah are inscribed in the Arabic calligraphy. Other important inscriptions included on the monument are the national anthem of the country in Urdu and Bengali, excerpts from the speeches of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Urdu, Bengali and English; and a few couplets written by Allama Iqbal.
Significance
Minar-e-Pakistan is considered the national emblem of Pakistan,{{cite book|title=The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems|first=James|last=Minahan|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=141}}{{cite web|title=National Symbols of Pakistan |url=http://www.nationalheritage.gov.pk/nationalsymbols.html |publisher=Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage – Government of Pakistan |archive-date=27 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827084404/http://nationalheritage.gov.pk/nationalsymbols.html}} and an expression of post-colonial national identity.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}
= Notable visits and events=
On February 21, 1999, the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the first Indian leader to visit Minar-e-Pakistan (previous Indian state visits to Pakistan had not included a visit to Lahore).{{cite book|title=Relations of NDA and UPA with Neighbours|last1=Singh |first1=Rajkumar |pages=80–81|year=2010 |isbn=978-81-21-21060-7}} Vajpayee's visit was compared to Nixon's visit to China in terms of significance.{{cite book|title=Trusting Enemies: Interpersonal Relationships in International Conflict|pages=128, 211|first=Nicholas J.|last=Wheeler|publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2018|isbn=978-01-99-69647-5}}
The monument has served as the location for a number of rallies.{{cite web|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-93467-PTI-to-stage-rally-at-Minar-e-Pakistan-today- |title=PTI to stage rally at Minar-e-Pakistan today |work=The News International |date=23 March 2013}} The rallies have often caused damage to the surrounding flora, according to the Parks and Horticulture Authority. In 2014, the Government of Punjab considered banning any large political or non-political gatherings.{{cite news|title=City diary : Govt mulls banning public rallies at Minar-i-Pakistan |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1146706 |date=25 November 2014 |publisher=Dawn}}
Gallery
File:Minar-e-Pakistan Damn cruze DSC 0127a.jpg|View from the Greater Iqbal Park
File:The Minar-e-Pakistan.jpg|A lit view of the monument in 2014
File:Minar e pakistan in blue sky with shadow.jpg|A view under cloudy sky with shadow on the marble floor
File:Minar-e-Pakistan by ZILL NIAZI 2.jpg|An aerial view
File:Shahi Mosque 10.jpg|The richly framed by an aisle arch
File:Minar-E-Pakistan Lights.jpg|The tower lit during special events
File:Minar e Pakistan night image.jpg|At night
File:Minar-e-Pakistan01.jpg|Another night view
See also
Bibliography
- State of Human Rights in Pakistan. Pakistan, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, 2004.
- {{cite book |last1=Chaudhry |first1=Nazir A. |title=Lahore: Glimpses of a Glorious Heritage |year=1998 |publisher=Sang-e-Meel Publications |location=Lahore |isbn=9789693509441 |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Lahore_a_Glorious_Heritage.html?id=bIPjAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y}}
- {{cite book |last1=Nadiem |first1=Ihsan H. |author-link=Ihsan H. Nadiem |title=Lahore: a Glorious Heritage |year=1996 |publisher=Sang-e-Meel Publications |location=Lahore |isbn=978-96-93-50718-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Lahore_a_Glorious_Heritage.html?id=3e3iAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y}}
References
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
External links
{{commons category|Minar-e-Pakistan}}
- {{cite web |title=Minar-e Pakistan |url=https://www.archnet.org/sites/260 |publisher=ArchNet}}
- {{cite web|url=http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.tcl?site_id=364 |title=Minar-e-Pakistan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311052425/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.tcl?site_id=364 |archive-date=11 March 2007 |website=archnet.org}}
- {{cite web |title=Minar-e-Pakistan |url=http://www.lahore.com/content/section/4/45/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070109183759/http://www.lahore.com/content/section/4/45/ |archive-date=9 January 2007}}
{{Walled City of Lahore}}
{{National symbols of Pakistan}}
{{Cultural heritage sites in Punjab, Pakistan |state=autocollapse}}
Category:1968 establishments in Pakistan
Category:Towers completed in 1968
Category:Islamic architecture in Pakistan
Category:Monuments and memorials in Pakistan
Category:National symbols of Pakistan
Category:Architecture in Pakistan
Category:Tourist attractions in Lahore
Category:Walled City of Lahore