Pakistan Revives Forgotten Hindu Identity of Lahore

Lahore in Pakistan is witnessing a sudden shedding of its Islamised identity as colonial names are being restored to several places. The older Hindu, Sikh, Jain names are appearing on the official signboards again.

The signboard of Islampura is now reading Krishan Nagar, Babri Masjid Chowk has returned to Jain Mandir Chowk and Rehman Gali is reverted to Ram Gali, Fatima Jinnah Road to Queens Road.

After nearly 80 years of partition, over nine locations have returned to their old names in the last two months. Reportedly, many others will also get their past glory.

Name Changing Spree

The change seemingly is an attempt by the Pakistani government to show the world that it is shedding its ‘radical image’ and evolving into an inclusive, tolerant, and multicultural nation, to gain access to diplomatic and financial aid.

Pakistan has long been facing allegations of terror financing, which costed its economy billions of dollars. Pakistan wants to construct a narrative that it is gradually drifting away from extremism to avoid Financial Action Task Force (FATF) from reimposing sanctions upon it.

The country is staring at economic crisis and is dependent on an IMF bailout package for its existence. Apart from the economic conditions, the IMF also considers a country’s political stability and social climate.

The renaming of places was taken up to instill confidence among foreign investors and the IMF that the country is slowly turning into a safe nation, without any links to anti-social and terrorist organisations.

The renaming drive was started by former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz in 2025. The campaign is part of a much larger ‘Lahore Heritage Area Revival’ (LHAR) project of Punjab government in Pakistan.

The LHAR project, worth 50 billion PKR, is aimed at reviving the country’s cultural capital to its pre-partition heritage. The initiative is to promote heritage tourism that can generate revenue to the government.