Ajay Kumar at 18:15, 23 July 2023

2023-07-23T18:15:07Z

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{{Short description|Indian architect & businessman (1851–1927)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = [[Rai Bahadur]] Sir
| name = Ganga Ram Agarwal<ref>{{cite web |title=The once glorified Sir Ganga Ram House now in shambles|url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/340251/the-once-glorified-sir-ganga-ram-house-now-in-shambles/}}</ref>
| native_name =
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the Indian Empire|CIE]], [[Royal Victorian Order|MVO]]
| image = Sir_Ganga_Ram.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| native_name_lang =
| birth_name = Ganga Ram Agarwal(hindu)
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1851|04|13}}
| birth_place = [[Mangtanwala]], [[Sheikhupura District|Sheikhupura]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]] (now in [[Punjab, Pakistan]])
| disappeared_place =
| disappeared_status =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1927|07|10|1851|04|13}}
| death_place = [[London, England]]
| resting_place = Portion of remains scattered in [[Ganges]] while the rest are stored in the [[Samadhi]] of Sir Ganga Ram in [[Lahore]]
| religion = [[hindu]]
| monuments = [[Samadhi (shrine)|Samadhi]] of Sir Ganga Ram near [[Taxali Gate, Lahore]]
| other_names = "Father of Modern [[Lahore]]"
| education = Government High School
| alma_mater = [[Government College University, Lahore|GCU Lahore]] [[Thomason College of Civil Engineering|Thomas college]]
| occupation = [[Civil engineer]]
| children =
| parents =
| relatives = [[Ashwin Ram]] [[Shreela Flather, Baroness Flather|Shreela Flather]] [[Kesha Ram]]
| known for = [[General Post Office, Lahore]] [[Lahore Museum]] [[Aitchison College|Aitchison College, Lahore]] [[National College of Arts|Mayo School of Arts]] [[Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (Pakistan)|Sir Ganga Ram Hospital]] [[Mayo Hospital|Mayo Hospital, Lahore]] [[Lahore College for Women|Sir Ganga Ram High School]] [[Hailey College of Commerce]] [[The Mall, Lahore]]
}}

[[Rai Bahadur]] '''Sir Ganga Ram''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CIE|MVO}} (born '''Ganga Ram Agarwal'''; 13 April 1851 – 10 July 1927)<ref>{{cite web |title=The once glorified Sir Ganga Ram House now in shambles|url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/340251/the-once-glorified-sir-ganga-ram-house-now-in-shambles/}}</ref> was an British Indian [[civil engineer]] and [[architect]]. His extensive contributions to the urban fabric of [[Lahore]], then in [[colonial India]] and now in modern Pakistan, caused Khaled Ahmed to describe him as "the father of modern Lahore".<ref name="Ahmed2001">{{cite book|author=Khaled Ahmed|title=Pakistan: behind the ideological mask : facts about great men we don't want to know|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hjRuAAAAMAAJ|year=2001|publisher=Vanguard|isbn=978-969-402-353-3}}</ref>

==Early life==

Ganga Ram Agarwal<ref>{{cite web |title=The once glorified Sir Ganga Ram House now in shambles|url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/340251/the-once-glorified-sir-ganga-ram-house-now-in-shambles/}}</ref> was born on 13 April 1851 in [[Mangtanwala]], a village in [[Sheikhupura District]] in the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]] of [[British Raj|British India]] (now in the [[Nankana Sahib District]] of [[Punjab, Pakistan]]) into a [[Punjabi Hindu]] [[Bania (caste)|Baniya]] family of the [[Agrawal|Agarwal]] clan.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bureau |first1=Medical Dialogues |title=Sir Ganga Ram Hospital celebrates 64th founders day |url=https://medicaldialogues.in/sir-ganga-ram-hospital-celebrates-64th-founders-day |website=medicaldialogues.in |language=en |date=15 April 2019}}</ref> His father, Doulat Ram Agarwal, was a junior subinspector at a police station in Mangtanwala. Later, he shifted to [[Amritsar]] and became a copy-writer of the court. Here, Ganga Ram passed his matriculation examination from the Government High School and joined the [[Government College University, Lahore|Government College]], Lahore in 1869. In 1871, he obtained a scholarship to the [[Thomason Civil Engineering College]] at [[Roorkee]]. He passed the final lower subordinate examination with the gold medal in 1873. He was appointed assistant engineer and called to [[Delhi]] to help in the building of the [[Delhi Durbar|Imperial Assemblage]].{{citation needed|date= March 2014}}

==Career==
===Engineer===
[[File:Front View of Lahore Museum.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Lahore Museum]] building was designed in the [[Indo-Saracenic architecture|Indo-Saracenic architectural style]] by Sir Ganga Ram.]]
In 1873, after a brief Service in Punjab P.W.D devoted himself to practical farming. He obtained, on lease from the government, {{convert|50,000|acres}} of barren, unirrigated land in [[Sahiwal District#History|Montgomery District]], and within three years converted that vast desert into smiling fields, [[irrigation|irrigated]] by water lifted by a [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric plant]] and running through a thousand miles of irrigation channels, all constructed at his own cost. This was the biggest private enterprise of the kind, unknown and unthought-of in the country before. Sir Ganga Ram earned millions most of which he gave to charity.

In the words of [[Sir Malcolm Hailey]], the [[List of Governors of Punjab (British India)|Governor of Punjab]], "he won like a hero and gave like a Saint". He was a great engineer and a great philanthropist.

In 1900, Ganga Ram was selected by [[Lord Curzon]] to act as superintendent of works in the [[Delhi Durbar#Durbar of 1903|Imperial Durbar]] to be held in connection with the accession of King [[Edward VII]]. He finished the work at the Darbar managing its manifold problems and challenges. He retired prematurely from service in 1903.

He received the title of ''[[Rai Bahadur]]'' in 1903, and was appointed a Companion of the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] (CIE) on 26 June 1903 for his services at the Delhi Durbar.<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/27568/supplements/4010 The London Gazette, 26 June 1903]</ref> On 12 December 1911, in a special honours list after the 1911 Delhi Durbar, he was appointed a Member Fourth Class (present-day Lieutenant) of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO).<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/28559/pages/9364 The London Gazette, 12 December 1911]</ref> He was knighted in the [[1922 Birthday Honours]] list,<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/32716/supplements/4320 The London Gazette, 3 June 1922]</ref> and on 8 July was personally invested with his honour at [[Buckingham Palace]] by the King-Emperor George V.<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/32730/pages/5354 The London Gazette, 18 July 1922]</ref>

He designed and built [[General Post Office, Lahore]], [[Lahore Museum]], [[Aitchison College]], Mayo School of Arts (now the [[National College of Arts]]), [[Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (Pakistan)|Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore 1921]], Lady Mclagan Girls High School, the chemistry department of the Government College University, the Albert Victor wing of [[Mayo Hospital]], Sir Ganga Ram High School (now [[Lahore College for Women]]), the [[Hailey College of Commerce]] (now [[Hailey College of Banking & Finance]]), Ravi Road House for the Disabled, the Ganga Ram Trust Building on "[[The Mall, Lahore|The Mall]]" and Lady Maynard Industrial School. He also constructed Model Town and Gulberg town, once the best localities of Lahore, [[Renala Khurd#Renala Hydral Power Station|the powerhouse]] at [[Renala Khurd]] as well as the railway track between Pathankot and Amritsar. {{citation needed|date= March 2014}}

After the partition of India and Pakistan, another hospital [[Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (India)|Sir Ganga Ram Hospital]], New Delhi was built in 1951 in his memory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sgrh.com/about_us|title=Sir Ganga Ram Hospital New Delhi Official Website |publisher=SGRH|language=en|access-date=2019-02-23}}</ref>

====Service in Patiala State====
[[File:Gangaram.jpg|thumb|Ganga Ram in 1927 CE.]]
He became Superintending Engineer in [[Patiala State]] for the capital's reconstruction project after his retirement. Amongst his works were Moti Bagh Palace, [[Secretariat Building, New Delhi]], Victoria Girls School, the law courts and police station.

In Tehsil Jaranwala of district [[Lyallpur]] (now [[Faisalabad]]), Ganga Ram built a unique travelling facility, Ghoda Train (horse pulled train). It was a railway line from Buchiana Railway station (on Lahore Jaranwala railway line) to the village of Gangapur. It remained in use for decades even after Independence. It became useless for need of repair in 1980s. It was unique of its kind. It was two simple trollies pulled on a narrow rail track with horse instead of railway engine.

The same was resumed in 2010 by the Faisalabad District Authorities giving it a status of cultural heritage. {{citation needed|date= March 2014}}

===Agriculturalist===
He was a promising agriculturist, too. He took more than 20,000 acres of land on lease from the Government near [[Renala]] and cultivated it by completely irrigating the barren land with hydro-electric pumping.<ref>{{cite book |title=Panjab District Gazetteer - Montgomery District Part A |publisher=Punjab Govt Record Office |pages=102 |edition=1933 |url=http://www.panjabdigilib.org/webuser/searches/displayPageContent.jsp?ID=2344&page=122&CategoryID=1&Searched=W3GX |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> He purchased thousands acres of barren land in Lyallpur on lease and by using engineering skills and modern irrigation methods, turned the arid lands into fertile fields. {{citation needed|date= March 2014}} He established a Maynard-Ganga Ram award of Rs 3000 with a Rs 25000 endowment. The award was to be made every three years for anyone who made an innovation that increased agricultural production in Punjab.

==Death==
[[File:Sir Ganga Ram Samadhi 12.jpg|thumb|The [[Samadhi (shrine)|samadhi]] of Sir Ganga Ram in [[Lahore]].]]
He died in London on 10 July 1927. His body was cremated and his ashes were brought back to India. A portion of the ashes were consigned to [[Ganges River]] and the rest buried in Lahore on the bank of the [[Ravi River]]. {{citation needed|date= March 2014}}

==Sir Ganga Ram in literature==
A marble statue of Sir Ganga Ram once stood in a public square on Mall Road in Lahore. Famous Urdu writer [[Saadat Hasan Manto]] wrote a satire on persons who were trying to obliterate any memory of any Hindu in Lahore during Partition riots. In his satirical story "The Garland,” set during the religious riots of 1947, an inflamed mob in Lahore, after attacking a residential area, turned to attacking the statue of Sir Ganga Ram, the great Lahori Hindu philanthropist of Lahore. They first pelted the statue with stones; then smothered its face with coal tar. Then a man made a garland of old shoes climbed up to put it round the neck of the statue. The police arrived and opened fire. Among the injured was the fellow with the garland of old shoes. As he fell, the mob shouted: “Let us rush him to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital” forgetting that ironically they were trying to obliterate the memory of the very person who had founded the hospital where the person was to be taken for saving his life.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-107485-Manto-from-heaven|title=Pakistan down India in volleyball quarterfinal|access-date=30 December 2012|archive-date=13 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713193207/http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-107485-Manto-from-heaven|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://pakistaniat.com/2007/04/17/pakistan-lahore-statue-sculpture-lajpat-rai-woolner-victoria-lawrence-ganga-ram/comment-page-1/ The Public Sculptures of Historic Lahore, Raza Rumi, Posted on April 17, 2007]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/17-Apr-2014/the-legacy-of-sir-ganga-ram|title = The legacy of Sir Ganga Ram|date = 16 April 2014}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:SirGangaranDelhi.jpg|thumb|Sir Ganga Ram statue at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi.]]
A student hostel, Ganga Bhawan was established at [[IIT Roorkee]] (erstwhile University of Roorkee and Thomason college of civil engineering) on 26 November 1957 in his honour.
<ref>[http://www.iitr.ernet.in/campus_life/web/GangaBhawan/ Ganga Bhawan] Official Website of Ganga Bhawan, [[IIT Roorkee]]</ref> The Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan was partially damaged in the blasts that destroyed a nearby Police Station on 27 May 2009.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/27/lahore.blast/index.html Pakistan: Trio held after deadly blast kills 27] [[CNN.com]]</ref>

Today, his family through his sons and daughters reside across the world. Some of whom include Indu Vira, great-grandson and also son of Dharma Vira the founder of the [[Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (India)|Sir Ganga Ram Hospital]] in [[New Delhi]]. His other great-grandson, Dr. [[Ashwin Ram]] is an [[Professor|Associate Professor]] in the School of [[Interactive computing]] in the College of Computing of the [[Georgia Institute of Technology]], while his great-granddaughter, [[Shreela Flather, Baroness Flather]], is a teacher and British politician.

==Works==

{{Gallery
|title=Some buildings designed and built by Ram
|width=200
|height=200
|lines=2
|align=center
|File:GPO_Mall_Road_Lahore.jpg|alt1=General Post Office, Lahore|[[General Post Office, Lahore]]
|File:Lahore_Museum,_Lahore.jpg|alt2=Lahore Museum|[[Lahore Museum]]
|File:Aitchisoncollege.jpeg|alt3=Aitchison College|[[Aitchison College]]
|File:Hailey_College_of_Banking_and_Finance.jpg|alt4=Hailey College of Banking & Finance|[[Hailey College of Banking & Finance]]
}}

==Named after Ram==
===Institutes===
* [[Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (India)]]
* [[Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (Pakistan)]]

===Places===
* [[Ghangha Pur|Gangapur]], Punjab, Pakistan
* Sir Ganga Ram's home, Punjab, Pakistan

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Bedi, Baba Pyare Lal, ''Harvest from the desert. The life and work of Sir Ganga Ram'', NCA, Lahore 2003 ISBD 969-8623-07-8 (reprint version)

{{Authority control}}

{{India topics}}
{{Punjab, India}}
{{Lahore topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ram, Ganga}}
[[Category:1851 births]]
[[Category:1927 deaths]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:Punjabi architects]]
[[Category:Indian Hindus]]
[[Category:Punjabi Hindus]]
[[Category:Bania communities]]
[[Category:Agrawal]]
[[Category:Aggarwal]]
[[Category:Engineers from Lahore]]
[[Category:Indian philanthropists]]
[[Category:People from British India]]
[[Category:Indian Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Indian Members of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:People from Nankana Sahib District]]
[[Category:People from Punjab Province (British India)]]
[[Category:Indian people in rail transport]]
[[Category:Rai Bahadurs]]
[[Category:Businesspeople in agriculture]]
[[Category:People from Lahore]]

Ganga Ram - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 18:15, 23 July 2023