two Anglo-Sikh wars, eventually led to British control of the Lahore
Darbar ten years later. For the British, Punjab was a frontier province,
because Lahore had boundaries with Afghanistan and Persia. Therefore, the
Punjabis, unlike the Bengalis and the Sindhis, were not allowed to use their
mother tongue as an official language. The British first introduced Urdu as an
official language in Punjab, including Lahore, allegedly due to a fear of
Punjabi nationalism. Under British rule (1849–1947), colonial architecture in
Lahore combined Mughal, Gothic and Victorian styles. Under British rule, Sir
Ganga Ram (referred to as the father of modern Lahore) designed and built the
General Post Office, Lahore Museum, Aitchison College, Mayo School of Arts (now
the NCA), Ganga Ram Hospital, 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, Ravi Road House for the Disabled, the Ganga Ram Trust
Building on Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, and the Lady Maynard Industrial School. He
also constructed Model Town, a suburb that has recently developed into a
cultural centre for Lahore's growing socioeconomic elite.
The GPO and YMCA buildings in Lahore commemorated the golden jubilee of
Queen Victoria, an event marked by the construction of clock towers and
monuments all over British India. Other important British buildings included
the High Court, the Government College University, the museums, the National
College of Arts, Montgomery Hall, Tollinton Market, the University of the
Punjab (Old Campus) and the Provincial Assembly. Even today, Mall Road retains
a variety of Gothic and Victorian style buildings built during the British Raj.
At one end of The Mall stands the university, one of the most prestigious in
Pakistan. The British also launched the city's first horse-racing club in
