Two parcels of state land sit on the same colonial avenue, and the government treats them as opposites. The Lahore Gymkhana holds about 112 acres for Rs 5,000 a year, Rs 417 a month (a little more than a US dollar) and the Punjab Assembly cannot force even a review of the lease. Ewing Hall, a 1916 heritage building of under two acres, was taken from Forman Christian College over a rent demand that is at once exorbitant and largely the state’s own doing, much of it billed for the very years the government had nationalised the college and was running it itself.

The question of the Gymkhana’s rent has been raised on the floor of the Punjab Assembly, denounced across party lines and referred to a committee to review within two months — which, 21 months on, has yet to submit even a report to the Assembly. Ewing Hall, on the other hand, was taken from its Christian college on 24 hours’ notice.

The building that was taken

On Thursday, June 11, the Punjab Board of Revenue took possession of Ewing Hall. A day earlier, the university administration had been told by telephone that the lease was cancelled and that officials would arrive the next day. Once the building changed hands, the administration was given 24 hours to remove generators, furniture and historical artefacts or have them, too, treated as government property.

Rector Dr Jonathan Addleton, who heads Forman Christian College University (FCCU), called it a “forcible takeover” in a video filmed outside the locked gates and posted on June 12; it drew more than 233,000 views within days. “Given its historical connections to Forman,” he said, “the past two days have involved considerable grief and more than a few tears.”

The timing sharpened the alarm. Thursday was ending; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were not ordinary court days; and there was no guarantee of an immediate stay on Monday. Over the decades, the government has taken away much of Forman’s original property, so staff feared the hall could be demolished and folded into the ongoing beautification of the congested Neela Gumbad quarter before a court could intervene.

The stakes are high. For more than a century and a half, Forman has produced presidents and prime ministers, chief justices, scientists and diplomats — among them former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, India’s former prime minister I. K. Gujral, former chief justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and the late seasoned diplomat Jamsheed Marker. The college’s reach is one reason the takeover landed as a national story rather than a minority grievance; without it, the case might have drawn little attention beyond the community most directly affected.

The college also rejects the heart of the money claim. It says it was unfairly asked to pay rent for the years from 1975 to 2003, when Forman had been nationalised and was under government control, a period for which it argues, the state, not the mission, was responsible

The college also rejects the heart of the money claim. It says it was unfairly asked to pay rent for the years from 1975 to 2003, when Forman had been nationalised and was under government control, a period for which it argues, the state, not the mission, was responsible

Conservationists joined the protest. The Lahore Conservation Society Collective urged the government to drop any plan to acquire, demolish or irreversibly alter the building, noting that it is a protected heritage structure listed under the Punjab Special Premises (Preservation) Ordinance, 1985, and that revitalisation should mean restoration and adaptive reuse, not demolition. Architect Raza Ali Dada told Voicepk........

© The Friday Times