THE GATES OF LAHORE CITY
The city of Lahore has thirteen openings. Twelve proper gates and one narrow passage serve as the exits and entrances to the most important city in the northern part of India. Like all medieval cities these gates of the city were closed and inhabitants wrapped themselves during the night in the seeming security of the fortress.
If there were gates , there must have been a rampart too to protect the city, but the first evidence of the proper wall is only found during the times of Akbar. According to Kanhaya Lal Kapoor, a 30 foot rampart was constructed round the city during the reign of Akbar. During the decline of the Mughal Empire, this fell victim to the neglect and decay, but when Ranjeet Singh took over and made Lahore the capital of his kingdom, the crumbling structure was rebuilt and strengthened by reducing the height of the rampart from 30 feet to 15 feet.
DELHI GATE
Delhi Gate is so known because it faces the general direction of Delhi in the south. It became the most important exit and entrance after the Railway Station was built, providing the shortest route from the station to the walled city. The old gate that was probably constructed during the reign of Akbar crumbled and was reconstructed by Thakedar Sultan from his own resources during the British Period.
AKBARI GATE
Named after Akbar himself , this is where a grain market was set up upon his orders. The gate was reconstructed during the 'colonial times' on the original architectural design but it decayed and crumbled also. Now there is no trace of the gate as it was completely demolished after the creation of Pakistan.
MOCHI DARWAZA
This gate is actually named after Moti Jamadaar, (jamadaar means sweeper,cleaner... and darwaza means gate), who was posted on duty here throughout his life. During the Sikh Rule , the name somehow got distorted to Mochi Darwaza , and has been called so by the populace of Lahore. The actual gate was demolished during the colonial times and the debris disposed off. The word 'mochi' , means cobbler.
SHAH ALAM GATE
Generally called as "Shahhaalmi Gate", by the Lahorites , Shah Alam was the son of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir, who died in Lahore in 1712. The gate probably carried another name previously. This gate was also rebuilt during the colonial times but in the carnage of partition , it was pulled down as a good number of buildings in the area were set on fire. The area was reconstructed but not the gate after partition , with its architecture incongruous to the rest of the walled city.
LAHORI DARWAZA
The gate, as obvious is named after the city's own name, Lahore. 'Jaipal' hid in Lahore for a few months and fought to delay the inevitable surrender to "Mahmood of Ghazni". After victory Mahmood put the entire city to torch. The population was either killed or had to flee. When "Ayaz" became the governor , the rehabilitation started from this area , called "Lahori Mandi" ( Lahori Mart) , so the first gate was built here. It was later rebuilt in the colonial times.
MORI DARWAZA
It's actually not a gate, but just a very narrow opening, in fact so narrow that at one time only one person could walk through it. During the Sikh period , the garbage of the city was disposed off from here, and probably for this reason it came to be known as Mori Gate.
BHATTI GATE
It is named after Bhatia Rajputs, who came to inhabit this area after Lahore was rehabilitated. The present structure was rebuilt during the colonial times.
TAXALI GATE
Taxali Gate is named so because a Taxaal (mint) functioned here. There are no traces of the mint although Taxaali Mosque is an authentic evidence f a bygone era.
MASTI DARWAZA
Actually , it was Masjadi Darwaza because of the mosque of Maryam Makani, the mother of Akbar, was situated here.According to Kanhaya Lal it was named Masti because a guard named Masti Baloch served here for long years till his death.
KASHMIRI DARWAZA
This gate faces the general direction of Kashmir , Paradise On Earth . It was rebuilt during the colonial times. The embankments outside the gate testify to the fact that river Ravi , flowed alongside it.
SHERANWALA DARWAZA
The word Sheranwala makes us think of lions , as the word 'Sher' means lion or tiger. Its actual name was Khizri Darwaza , and since it was a boat terminal for crossing the river it was named after the saint "Khizar" , the patron saint of rivers and waterways. During the Sikh period two cages with live lions were placed here to protect the citizens. These cages were removed during the colonial era , but two paintings of the lions serve as reminder of the times of Raja Ranjeet Singh.
YAKKI DARWAZA
Named after Pir Zaki Shaheed who was martyred here, the gate was demolished during the colonial times. There are two graves , one outside the gate with the severed head of Pir Zaki Shaheed , and the one inside contains his remaining body.
The rampart and the gates remained in good condition till the reign of Ranjeet Singh. During he colonial era , the demands of warfare completely changed - the big trenches outside the wall were filled up and gardens were laid in them. The gates ceased to shut at night. The value of the wall and gates shifted from pure defense and security , to more historical interest.
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