Greater Iqbal Park (

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

, ), formerly Iqbal Park (after the Islamic philosopher and poet

Muhammad Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

) and Minto Park, is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

located on the outskirts of the

Walled City The following cities have, or historically had, defensive walls. Africa Algeria * Algiers * Ghardaïa * Timimoun Egypt See List of Egypt castles, forts, fortifications and city walls. * Al-Fustat * Cairo * Damietta Ethiopia * Harar Libya *Apo ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Noted as the home of

Minar-e-Pakistan Minar-e-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 ...

'','' the 329-acre park includes an artificial lake which spreads over four acres which includes an 800-feet-long

musical fountain A musical fountain, also known as a fairy fountain, prismatic fountain or dancing fountain, is a type of choreographed fountain that creates aesthetic designs as a form of entertainment. The displays are commonly synchronised to music and also ...

. Other attractions includes a two-kilometre-long soft rail, a library, an open-air gym and a food court. The

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

s of Iqbal and

Hafeez Jalandhari Abul Asar Hafeez Jalandhari PP HI (; 14 January 1900 – 21 December 1982) was a Pakistani poet who wrote the lyrics for the National Anthem of Pakistan and the Anthem of Azad Kashmir. He wrote in Urdu and Persian languages and is widely c ...

are also located in the park.

History

The grounds known as Greater Iqbal Park today were used for ceremonial military parades during the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

era. After the ascension of the Sikhs into power in 1799, the grounds came to be known as 'Parade Ground', as the area continued to be used for the same purpose as it was by the Mughals. When the British captured Lahore in 1849, they renamed the grounds as Minto Park, after Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto, and

Governor-General of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...

between July 1807 and 1813. After the creation of Pakistan, the park was renamed as Iqbal Park, after the poet-philosopher

, in commemoration of the

Lahore Resolution The Lahore Resolution, later called the Pakistan Resolution in Pakistan, was a formal political statement adopted by the All-India Muslim League on the occasion of its three-day general session in Lahore, Punjab, from 22 to 24 March 1940, call ...

of 1940. After extensive renovations were completed in December 2016, the park was given its current name.

Renovation and expansion

Work began on the upgradation of the park on 10 October 2015. Habib Construction Services Limited was contracted to complete the project. Along with renovation of the Minar-i-Pakistan, the project featured expansion of the Iqbal Park by including it in the stretch of Circular Road between the park and

Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort (; ; ) is a citadel in the walled interior of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of the Walled City and spreads over an area greater than . It contains 21 notable monuments, some of which ...

. The 125-acre green oasis is surrounded almost entirely by the old city of Lahore. The project was completed on 9 November 2016 incurring a total cost of PKR 981 million as quoted by the contractor of the project. The new-look park was formally inaugurated on 17 December 2016. Furthermore, the National History Museum was opened in the park in 2018. It is the first digital museum in Pakistan that offers an immersive experience to visitors with the help of cutting-edge technologies. Using holograms and virtual reality equipment, this digital museum commemorates all the historic events leading to the emergence of Pakistan in 1947. Along with hosting a vast collection of national relics and antiquities, the museum also highlights the key sports and cultural events throughout the history of the country.

Features

The park features the following sites: *

* Tomb of

Allama Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

Musical fountain A musical fountain, also known as a fairy fountain, prismatic fountain or dancing fountain, is a type of choreographed fountain that creates aesthetic designs as a form of entertainment. The displays are commonly synchronised to music and also ...

* National History Museum * Library *

Boating lake A boating lake is a lake used for recreational boating. Such lakes are often in parks and can be artificially made. Some boating lakes are used for model boats. References External links * Lakes by type Lakes A lake is often ...

-style baradari * Children play area *

Food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...

* Open-air gym * Walking trails * Buggy track *

Gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or Gun turret, turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden, or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. In British English, the word is also used for a tent-like can ...

Gallery

File:The mighty Minar-e-Pakistan.jpg,

and its lush surroundings File:Badshahi Mosque July 1 2005 pic32 by Ali Imran (1).jpg,

Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque (; ) is a Mughal Empire, Mughal-era congregational mosque, imperial mosque located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was constructed between 1671 and 1673 during the rule of Aurangzeb, opposite of the Lahore Fort on the north ...

is adjacent to Iqbal Park File:The Lahore Forts Alamgiri Gate Picture2 taken at night - July 20 2005.jpg,

is adjacent to Iqbal Park File:Allama Iqbals Tomb East wall close-up July 1 2005.jpg, Tomb of Muhammad Iqbal is adjacent to Iqbal Park File:Iqbal park lush grounds.jpg, Lush grounds of the park File:Iqbal Park view of Badshahi Mosque.jpg, View of

from the park File:Greater Iqbal park.jpg, Traditional

horse-drawn carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...

File:Iqbal Park (Lahore) by Damn Cruze.jpg, View from

File:Iqbal Park.jpg, Entrance to Hafeez Jalandhari's tomb File:Iqbal Park, Lahore 5.jpg, Walking trails at evening

References

{{LahoreTopics Lahore Tourist attractions in Lahore Walled City of Lahore Memorials to Muhammad Iqbal Parks in Lahore Gardens in Pakistan

History

Renovation and expansion

Features

Gallery

See also

References