Harking back: Has the time for ‘Lahore Partition Museum’ come?

Finally amidst the mind-boggling mist of Punjab politics and inflation-related social tension, the long battle to firstly, save the historic Bradlaugh Hall from complete ruin, and, secondly, the setting up of a coveted ‘Partition Museum’, finally seems visible.

It has been a long struggle and one is proud that this newspaper played a major role of reminding people and politicians of our country’s past, bloody that it ended in. Born out of the greatest exodus in human history, it seems people have become oblivious to the price their forefathers paid so that we could be free. It was clear that scholars, politicians and social activists just did not want to discuss the matter. There was no monetary profit in this enterprise. But then the past has a habit of reappearing to teach us lessons.

Last year the government (which one does not matter) finally decided that the Bradlaugh Hall had to be saved. They had no idea just who would lead the effort. So in principle the conservation project was approved and a paltry sum of Rs20 million sought. Permission aside, the question remained just when would this amount be sanctioned and who would carry out this task? Plus once it was done what would happen in the famous hall? These were two questions that needed solving.

Finally, it was decided that the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) would carry out the task. But then for almost a year the ‘approved project’ hung in thin air for the sanctioned money was not forthcoming. It seems that a decision has finally been made, for on coming Thursday a meeting to fish for ideas will be held in the coveted hall. There is a concerned citizens’ group called the Lahore Sangat, who have and continue to put up plaques in Lahore, from their own pocket, of famous past citizens. They wish to make sure that the quality of conservation is second to none.

But before the architects can draw the first line, a decision on the hall’s future use will have to be made. That will fashion the conservation plan and effort. So that is why the proposal to have the Partition Museum there comes to the fore. The question is who will operate and maintain the hall and the proposed museum. That is a question that will need clear answers. So let us have a look at other similar examples.

In Amritsar in Indian Punjab, the old Town Hall has been conserved and a Partition Museum Trust was formed. It had the finest scholars and historians and known social activists involved. The Cambridge University archives department and the Berkeley University and universities from all over India and the world joined hands. The Berkeley-based 1947 Partition Archives project assisted in no small measure making sure of its success. The result is a first rate project run by the Trust and is now a major tourist attraction. In a way the Amritsar Partition Museum pays for its own expenses. That is an excellent example to follow.

Next, let us take a look at the Holocaust Museum near Berlin in Germany. Mind you there are over a dozen such museums all over the world. All these museums keep educating Jewish (and non-Jewish) children about the horrible conditions from which they passed in the Second World War concentration camps. The creation of Israel was a direct result of that holocaust. Mind you the 1947 Partition was, in a much shorter time period, a much more intense massacre. The question we should all ask ourselves is ‘do our children know about it?’ Our readers know the answer full well.

A bit about Bradlaugh Hall is called for, though in pieces past a lot of research has been put together on the subject. This hall was put together by the freedom fighters at the turn of 19thcentury. The name Bradlaugh is that of a British MP from Yorkshire who kept tabling resolutions in British parliament demanding that India be given its freedom. He was issued an order forbidding his presence on British Indian soil. So Mr. Bradlaugh sat in a boat on the River Ravi outside Lahore to remain legally correct. So the order was revised to include ‘land and water’.

Once the hall was built by Indian business houses pooling resources, it is where most social and political activities took place in Lahore. In it came Iqbal, Jinnah, Gandhi, Nehru, Ghaffar Khan and all the great leaders and intellectuals of the sub-continent. On the 19th of December 1929 the ‘Purna Swaraj’ (total freedom) resolution was passed in Bradlaugh Hall and on the 26th of January, 1930, it was announced in this very hall. This also put pressure on the Muslim League to follow with such a resolution, which was passed in the nearby Minto Park ten years later.

It was in this hall that the great freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai set up the Punjab College, in which fighters like Bhagat Singh lived and studied. The entire incident involving Bhagat Singh and his friends was planned in Bradlaugh Hall. In this hall some of the finest speakers delivered fiery speeches and advocated freedom. It was in a sense the most important place in the entire British India.

Come the 1947 Partition and the exodus that followed led to the hall being deserted. The legal owner had migrated and the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) took over. Over the years it has been rented out to an array of people, a few of which one can recall as we lived next door. Tailors, tinkers, motor parts storage, textile factory. You name it this hall has been ruined by one and all.

Finally, under pressure from concerned persons the hall was left empty, and empty it decayed for a long time. But then in the outer grounds people started building houses, all naturally illegal. You name an evil and that has been committed, and all under ETPB knowledge.

But what happened in the past is before us all. Let us look forward and hope that, firstly, the hall is restored and conserved to the highest standard possible. Next, the conservation must include what is planned in the future. Lastly, if the authorities agree to set up the ‘Lahore Partition Museum’, then they can rest assured that assistance awaits, even from foreign persons and institutions wishing the project well.

Lastly, if the conservation takes two years, certainly more funds will be needed. Here the planned Trust, the ETPB, the WCLA, and Punjab government will all need to join hands to make sure a high-quality Partition Museum come about. With considerable confidence this scribe can say that there is great international interest, and resources, monetary and human, available. Let not the contractor-property mentality win over our history. This only time will tell.