UNVEILING THE BRITISH PERIOD BUILT HERITAGE, A LIVING ARCHAEOLOGY IN LYALLPUR AND IN GENERAL PAKISTAN

Abstract

This paper was presented in international conference at Faisalabad, which emphasis the British raj Architecture in Faisalabad in particular and in general Pakistan, Lyallpur was the planned city during British raj, the city got named behind the Sir James Broadwood Lyall, the British lieutenant governor of the Punjab, in 1898 Lyallpur was declared as Municipality of lower Chenab region. Lyallpur name was changed in 1973 behind the name of Saudi king Faisal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Faisalabad is the third populated and largest city of Pakistan with population of 3.8 million of peoples.During British raj the multiple architectural projects were laid for regional sustainable development, in irrigation the number of barrages, bridges were constructed which resulted in vast land area cultivable to meet grain requirements. Railway stations, Railway tracks, railway track bridges were constructed for smooth and hassle free travel, Municipality and other marvelous administrative buildings were constructed for developing markets, business and raising the urban life standards, all this played a pivotal role in revenue generation.Lyallpur also owned variety of British raj Architecture; salient splendid examples are like Chenab club 1910, the most famous the clock tower in 1903, Gumti water fountain 1897, Sir James Lyal Monument, Faisal Abad railway station 1896, Sikh Gurduwara 1911. More than 15 British raj buildings are in Karachi, Sukkur and Hyderabad has variety of British Raj buildings with marvelous architectural styles, which are still functional and in use, there wouldn’t be any exaggeration to call it as British period living archaeology, though the buildings in Faisal Abad and in rest of Indo-Pak region were constructed by the Britishers, but now all that are the integral part of Pakistani cultural heritage.