Historical memories of the Bagh

Liaquat Bagh, which was earlier known as Company Bagh before the martyrdom of the country’s first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan, is an iconic place in the garrison city. The bagh is witness to several historical events besides having over 200 years of colonial and post-colonial history.

As is evident from its previous name Company Bagh, it was a place where the soldiers of the then East India Company used to hold parades. However, its history even dates back to the pre-East India Company’s era. It got fame and earned name due East India Company.

In 1814, after the death of Jiwan Singh, Ranjit Singh, the Sikh emperor included Rawalpindi into his kingdom. In 1849 Sikh generals Chitar Singh and Shair Singh were defeated by the British forces and they surrendered before them in Rawalpindi.

In 1851, Lord Dalhousie made Rawalpindi the base of 53 regiment of northern command and established a military garrison on the GT Road in Rawalpindi.

A road was constructed to link the city with the military garrison and the forces started drills in a garden, on the Murree Road near a wooden bridge which was constructed over Nala Lai. Due to the parade of armed forces of the East India Company over here the locals started calling this garden as Company Bagh.

The Bagh witnessed a lot of disturbances after the War of Independence in 1857. In 1858 after overcoming mutiny, the government of India was taken over by the British Government from the East India Company.

In 1850, the renowned poet of Punjabi Ahmad Ali Siyyan who was born in Peshawar after attaining  maturity made this garden as his sitting place which continued as his ‘Maskan’ for so many years.

Many poets of his era used to visit him over here and many poetic sittings took place over here for many years.

In 1920, Ustad Abdul Ghani established a wrestling place for athletes in the same garden. This wrestling arena still exists over here which is known as ‘Dad pahlwan da ukhara.’

A club named as Cosmopolitan was also part of it during the same period where games like volleyball and later on cricket were played.

In 1936, the country’s founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah addressed a public gathering in the ground  of Islamia High School which was situated in front of Company Bagh.

Renowned leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, Maulana Azad, Dr Kachlo, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan and many other renowned political leaders addressed the mass gatherings over the same venue.

In 1947, this place served as a shelter for many people during riots which had erupted after the Partition of India.

The first PM Khan was addressing a public gathering at Company Bagh on October 16, 1951 when he was gunned down. After his martyrdom, this bagh was named after him.

After the creation of Pakistan, a lot of festivals used to take place, especially the festivals related to the two Eids.

It has also been a major place for poetic sittings besides serving as a concert venue for musicians and singers. It was also a hub of political activities.

Its dynamics changed when during the regime of former president Ayub Khan, it was turned into a bus terminal. Intercity transport used to operate from this place.

During former president Ziaul Haq’s era, it was reconstructed and the building of the local press club was also constructed on a part of it.

It was reportedly ruined when a dumping ground was established at the bagh in 2004 after the construction of Committee Chowk’s underpass.

In 2005, Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) reconstructed and rehabilitated it. A mosque was also constructed alongside it which is known as Sunhiri Masjid.

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto also embraced martyrdom in the northern gate of the iconic park in December 2007. Currently Liaquat Bagh besides being a recreational facility for the congested population of Rawalpindi also serves as a venue for holding political gatherings by political parties.

Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Rawalpindi looks after its affairs. Although the area of it has been shrinking due to construction on the site, its walking track spans around one kilometre.

It has its own plants’ nursery where different plantations are taken care which afterwards are planted all around it and at patches inside of the park.

There are pine trees, Talhi trees and a variety of other trees which enhance the beauty of the garden. There is a tree named Sumbal which is stated to be more than a century old. Its trunk presents a marvelous look to the observers which is spanning over vast areas of the land.

This tree is also hosting nest boxes for birds which have been arranged by the PHA Rawalpindi. Birds lay eggs in these nests during season and the chicks fly to their new destinations when they grow up.

Haji Noor Rehman, 65, told Bol News that he witnessed the grandeur of the park in his childhood.

He added that 55 years ago, there were a lot of trees in the park compared with today’s plantation in it.

He further said he has also seen honeycombs of honeybees on the trees over here which were generally extracted by the children of nearby localities.

Muhammad Altaf is a retired employee of PHA Rawalpindi and he has served as gardener in Liaquat Bagh for 35 years.

He was present in the garden when Benazir Bhutto was killed in 2007. He told this reporter that he has been witness to many episodes when foreigners especially from England paid a visit to this park and they kept sitting over here for many hours. According to him, mostly they were elderly British nationals who perhaps had paid a visit to it to refresh their old memories which were associated with it.

According to him, the older look of the park was a lot different compared with the present one. He said he has learnt from other people who had served here as the gardeners that its ground was not in the level position as it is now.

Shakeel Ahmad, a security supervisor at the park, told Bol News that sometimes foreigners while paying a visit to the park inquire about the history of the site. He also said there are some plaques in the vicinity of it which have been inscribed in Urdu and which elaborate some history of it.

“When I tell these foreigners that they can look at these plaques to understand its history, they say they can’t understand Urdu and these things should be in English too for their easy consumption.”

Liaquat Bagh has many stories in its folds, some of which are narrated and some of them go untold. In fact it is history in itself. There is a need to keep it in good shape and no new construction of any sort should be allowed over here.