When Governor Sir Edward Maclagan Was Recalled to Britain after Approving Government Land for a Local Housing Scheme in Lahore (Episode 8)

A poignant remembrance from the pages of history

The allocation of Rakh Kot Lakhpat land for the establishment of Model Town Lahore was made possible solely through the approval of Sir Edward Douglas Maclagan, the Governor of Punjab. At that time, however, his administration was facing considerable political pressure and press criticism regarding the Model Town project.

This atmosphere is reflected in the edition of the Civil and Military Gazette dated 12 May 1922. Then Lahore’s most influential English daily, it was read by representatives of the British Crown, senior civil and military officers, members of the colonial administration, and the city’s educated elite. In an editorial titled “Crown Lands and Forest Belts Around Lahore” the newspaper raised environmental and administrative concerns about the proposed site. It warned that the forests surrounding Rakh Kot Lakhpat and Kahna were vital to the ecological balance of Lahore and that converting them into residential land would damage the city’s natural landscape and green belt. This was one of the earliest written cautions in South Asia highlighting the need to maintain harmony between urban expansion and the environment.

Notably, the Government of Punjab did not dismiss the editorial. Instead, it formally recorded it as a reference in the Registrar of Co operative Societies Punjab, File No MT 1923 Co op 12, with the note:

“Public opinion expressed in the local English press regarding the forest lands near Kot Lakhpat has been noted by the Government.”

This official acknowledgement shows that, even in the earliest phase of Lahore’s urban planning, the government recognised the role of the press and included public opinion in its administrative process.

Sir Edward Maclagan was an exceptionally intelligent and far sighted administrator. He understood precisely how he wished to steer the Model Town proposal. To this day, the road from the Accountant General’s Office to Neela Gumbad bears his name, Maclagan Road. He was among the most dedicated advocates of the co operative system in the subcontinent and firmly believed that co operative societies could open new paths in urban planning, social welfare, and self reliance.

Though he belonged to the British aristocracy, he was, in temperament and sympathy, remarkably close to the land he governed. He took a personal interest in every endeavour that benefited the local population. Born in Murree, Punjab, while his father, General Robert Maclagan, served as Chief Engineer in the Punjab Public Works Department, he grew up familiar with the region’s terrain and people. Interestingly, Sir Ganga Ram later served in the same department and became the first local Executive Engineer, later knighted for his distinguished service.

Lady Maclagan, his wife, made significant contributions to women’s education in Lahore, and the Lady Maclagan School on Anarkali Lodge Road continues to bear her name. Sir Maclagan also served as Chancellor of the University of the Punjab and founded the Maclagan School of Engineering, now the University of Engineering and Technology.

In my book Lahore A Century in Reflection 1925 to 2025, I have devoted an entire chapter to Sir Maclagan’s character and achievements. In my view, had Lord Edward Maclagan not been the Governor of Punjab at that time, the approval of the Model Town Society would never have materialised.

Sir Maclagan was a remarkable personality. Although part of the colonial administration, he possessed a profoundly local sensibility. He was born and raised in India and understood its social fabric intimately. He did not perceive Indian society merely as a subject community but as an emerging urban civilisation. Within the rigid framework of colonial governance, he used the Co operative Societies Act 1912 for the public good, embedding the principles of collaboration and community participation into urban development.

To understand the history of Model Town Lahore fully, one must first appreciate the extraordinary decision that allowed the British Government to allocate land classified as Crown Property or State Land to local residents for residential purposes, even though full payment was required.

This was exceptional because, during the colonial era, such lands were usually reserved for military cantonments, government offices, railways, or agricultural experiment farms. To remove land from the category of Reserved Forest or Crown Property and dedicate it to a civilian housing scheme was contrary to the prevailing legal conventions.

When the British strengthened their hold over India, they realised that administrative control alone was insufficient and that military presence was essential for stability. They therefore established military barracks throughout the subcontinent in Lahore, Peshawar, Delhi, Kanpur, Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras.

British soldiers were permitted to live with their families, and these barracks gradually evolved into settled communities known as cantonments. They were considered the most organised and modern settlements of their time, distinguished by wide tree lined roads, open lawns, spacious bungalows, churches, clubs, and schools. The cantonments of Lahore, Peshawar, and Rawalpindi still retain much of that British order and aesthetic.

Alongside the cantonments, the British created residential areas for their civil officers, judges, and senior bureaucrats known as Civil Lines. These districts, planned with wide avenues, shaded trees, and elegant bungalows, were deliberately situated away from the congested urban centres to ensure a peaceful and sanitary environment. The Civil Lines of Lahore arose in this period, similar to those in Delhi and Allahabad.

By the early twentieth century, as cantonments and Civil Lines became the symbols of modern urban living, a new awareness took root among Lahore’s educated classes. Students and professionals who studied or worked alongside the British in institutions such as Government College Lahore, Forman Christian College, the University of the Punjab, and the Aligarh Muslim University began to wonder why, though equal in intellect and education, they lived in such inferior physical environments. Why were their own streets narrow, noisy, and unplanned. Why were their homes dark, airless, and congested, while the British lived in clean, orderly, and well designed surroundings.

From this reflection arose a new aspiration. Local residents could create a modern, green, and well organised community of their own. The first to give shape to this vision was the perceptive Lahore jurist Dewan Khem Chand. Having studied law in London, he returned not only with a Bar at Law but also with a new concept, the garden town. Inspired by the Garden City Movement in Europe led by Ebenezer Howard, he envisioned settlements that would combine nature with modern planning to create healthy and harmonious communities away from industrial noise and congestion.

That vision became the foundation of Model Town Lahore. It was far more than a residential project. It marked the beginning of the Co operative Housing Movement in the subcontinent, a movement that proved for the first time that local citizens, through collective effort and shared resources, could practise modern urban planning on their own.

To be continued in the next episode.