Lahore Masonic Temple in the

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

neighbourhood of

Lahore, Pakistan Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is the second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and 27th largest in the world, with a population of over 14 million. Lahore is one of Pakistan ...

, is the former home of Prince Albert Victor Lodge 2370ec, and Hope and Perseverance Lodge No. 782, two

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

s warranted by the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

. The building has not been used for masonic purposes since the lodges were disbanded in 1972, when then Prime Minister of

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# ...

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

placed a ban on Freemasonry in Pakistan."Masonic mystique " - Dawn.com
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Lodge of Hope and Perseverance No. 782

The first Masonic Temple of the Lodge of Hope and Perseverance was built in 1859 at Anarkali, Lahore. Its site on Lodge Road is now occupied by Lady Maclagan Government High School. The second Masonic Temple was built in 1914, using the foundation stone from its predecessor, on land that had once been a garden. The new temple was designed by Basil M. Sullivan, Consulting Architect to the government of Punjab, and mirrored the Shah Din Building, across the street along the Queens Road. It was later renovated for use by the

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 ...

Chief Minister's Secretariat. Due to recent additions to the Shah Din building, the two buildings are no longer mirror images of each other.

Rudyard Kipling

The author and poet

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

was made a Mason in the Lodge of Hope and Perseverance in 1885, at the original lodge building, under a dispensation allowing him to be initiated before his 21st Birthday. He served as secretary of the Lodge following his initiation. He remained a member of the lodge for three years, demitting in 1889. He wrote of his time in the Lodge of Hope and Perseverance in "Something of Myself" and in a letter to the ''Times'', describing "decorating the bare walls of the Masonic Hall with hangings after the prescription of King Solomon's Temple" and meeting members of many different religious faiths, including Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Jews. Kipling also references the original 1859 building in the opening scene of his novel '' Kim'', describing it as "the big blue and white Jadoo-Gher—the School of Wizards, as we named the Masonic Lodge." One plot line in the book relates to a piece of paper in Kim's possession, a "clearance-certificate", which shows that his deceased father was a Mason. In 1914, long after Kipling had left India, the lodge demolished the building that Kipling described, and replaced it with the current one.

Current status

In 1972

, then Prime Minister of Pakistan, placed a ban on Freemasonry and many other foreign organizations present in the country. The lodge was then disbanded and for a time the building was unused. It has been used as a multi-purpose

government building. In the late 1980s the

Heritage Foundation Pakistan Heritage Foundation of Pakistan is a Pakistani heritage and humanitarian aid organization founded by Yasmeen Lari and Suhail Zaheer Lari in 1980. In 1984, when there were plans to demolish the historically significant Hindu Gymkhana, Karachi b ...

and concerned citizens of

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 ...

started a project to renovate the heritage buildings on the Mall road, including this building.Lari, Y. (2003). Lahore - Illustrated City Guide. Karachi, Pakistan: Heritage Foundation Pakistan 2003

References

External links

Masonic Lodge
RNoor website {{The Mall, Lahore 1860 establishments in India Buildings and structures in Lahore Freemasonry in Pakistan Historic sites in Pakistan History of Lahore Masonic buildings completed in 1914 Office buildings in Lahore The Mall, Lahore Masonic buildings in Pakistan

Lodge of Hope and Perseverance No. 782

Rudyard Kipling

Current status

See also

References

External links