Masonic Temple (Lahore)
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| Lodge of Hope and Perseverance No. 782[1] | |
|---|---|
 Masonic Temple Lahore No. 782 | |
| Location | 90 Mall Lahore, Pakistan |
| Founded | 1860 |
| Built | 1914 |
  Location of Lodge of Hope and Perseverance No. 782[1] in Pakistan | |
Template:Freemasonry2 Lahore Masonic Temple in the Charing Cross neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, is the former home of the Lodge of Hope and Perseverance No. 782, a Masonic lodge warranted by the United Grand Lodge of England. Rudyard Kipling was a member, and Secretary, of the lodge.
The building has not been used for masonic purposes since the lodge was disbanded in 1972, when then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto placed a ban on Freemasonry in Pakistan along with many other foreign organizations present in the country.[2]
History
The first Masonic Temple of the Lodge of Hope and Perseverance was built in 1859.[3]
The current Masonic Temple was built in 1914, using the foundation stone from its predecessor.[1] on land that had once been a garden.[4] Charing Cross "became a point of importance with the building of the new Masonic Hall".[4] The new temple was designed by Basil M. Sullivan, Consulting Architect to the government of Punjab, mirroring the Shah Din Building, both of which flanked Queens Road. For many years, up to the early 1970s, it remained vacant and desolate, with locals calling it the "Jadoo Ghar", or "magic house". It was later renovated for use by the Punjab Chief Minister's Secretariat. Due to recent additions to the Shah Din building, the two buildings are no longer replicas.[5]
Rudyard Kipling
The author and poet Rudyard Kipling was made a mason in the Lodge of Hope and Perseverance in 1885 under a dispensation allowing him to be initiated before his 21st Birthday. He became secretary of the Lodge following his initiation.[6] 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.[7] Kipling references the original 1859 building in the opening scene of his novel Kim, describing it as "the big blue and white Jadoo-Gher—the Magic House, 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.[8][9] 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 Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, then Prime Minister of Pakistan, placed a ban on Freemasonry and many other foreign organizations present in the country. [2] The lodge was then disbanded and for a time the building was unused. Later renamed Mason Hall, it has been used as a multi-purpose Punjab government building.[10][11]
In the late 1980s the Heritage Foundation Pakistan and concerned citizens of Lahore started a project to renovate the heritage buildings on the Mall road, including this building.[12]
See also
References
- ^ a b Nazir Ahmad Chaudhry (1998). Lahore: Glimpses of a Glorious Heritage. Sang-e-Meel Publications. pp. 202--207. ISBN 978-9693509441.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b "Masonic mystique " - Dawn.com
- ^ "Laying the Foundation Stone of a Masonic Hall at Anarkullee" - The Freemasons' quarterly (magazine and) review, Pg. 356, Nov. 5, 1859
- ^ a b Majid Sheikh (2003-09-21). "Walking to Charing Cross". Dawn. Pakistan. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
a map of the Charing Cross area, drawn by the British in 1867, makes interesting reading. The area from the crossing, going eastwards, has nothing but gardens on the right. Where today stands the Masonic Hall has a beautiful 'circular garden'
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Naz, N. (Jan. 2008). Pakistan Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences. 2 http://www.uet.edu.pk/export/sites/UETWebPortal/research/researchinfo/journal/volume2/9.pdf.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Kipling and Freemasonry---MWBro. Robert A. Gordon PGM - G.L. P.E.I.
- ^ H. Paul Jeffers (2005). Freemasons: A History and Exploration of the World's Oldest Secret Society. Citadel Press. pp. 192--193. ISBN 978-0806526621.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Rudyard Kipling (1922). Kim. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page and Company. pp. 2ff.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Rudyard Kipling (1998). Alan Sandison (ed.). Kim. Oxford University Press. pp. 2, 291. ISBN 978-0192835130.
the Masonic Lodge: this is the lodge ('Hope and Perseverance no. 782 E.C.') to which Kipling was admitted in 1885....
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "The office of this organization was set up at Free Mason Hall, which had been taken over from the Masonic Society. This building is now known as 90-Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam and the offices of the Chief Minister are located therein. ..." 50 years of Lahore Arts Council, Alhamra by the Alhamra Council
- ^ "Evaluation of Seventh Five Year Plan, 1988-93" by the Pakistan Planning Council, Pg. 151
- ^ Lari, Y. (2003). Lahore - Illustrated City Guide. Karachi, Pakistan: Heritage Foundation Pakistan 2003
External links
- Masonic Lodge, RNoor website