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History of a Historic Gun

Amina Hasaan writes from Islamabad
Lahore, aa a chche goes, is a historic city of Pakistan Witness to many epic events and historic turns, crowning glories and crumbling fortunes, yet its streets and perks, alleys and mohallas are Increasingly being stripped of the remnants of the past
Old houses and havelles in the city are slowly being en croached upon by newly built houses Carved wooden doors, statues from the days of Raj have been removed to muse ums. and historical monu ments, facing the ravages of time and the neglect of man, are fast becoming dilapidated
Yet in the middle of the city, amid the rush and noise of a humdrum existence, pro vlding a relief from the over bearing sense of conformity, stands Kim s Gun.
Presently perched on a platform outside the National College of Arts, flanked by Aofred Woolner's statue and facing the Lahore museum. It was origlnaJly named Zamzama Now It Is colloquially known as Bhanglan wall top' after the Bhangls (a abet of Gujars) of Amritsar or 'Kim's Gun. This was after the novel Kipling wrote In 190). whose main character Kim grows up play Ing around the gun. Foreigners are still lured to Lahore as the city of Kim s Dun
The gun cast tn 1757 (235 years ago), still looks solid and strong, more decorative and beautiful than lethal
Though It was used In many batlk-s. dragged from one city to another several times. It has been lying in the open for more than a century However Its rnctal bore shines like new. und tlx- Irx redlbly strong wxd used for Its wheels is quite In
Fourteen feet, four and a half Inches In length, Kim s Gun Is one of the largest exist nig specimens of casting In Indo-Pak sub-continent Ils bore, with an aperture of nine and half Inches is made from
an alloy of copper and brass
The gun has a fas inaUng history, with accounts of bat ties and bloodshed feuds and Cftuurd*. bravery and betrayals It was cast at Lahore tn 1957. A period tn the history of the sub-continent srhen Muslims after the demise of Aurangzeb had been rapidly loosing all power, prestige and authority Rise of militant Hindu and Sikh groups and foreign in-
It was in these circumstances that Shah Wah Ullah Invited Ahmad Shah Abdali from Afghanistan and combining his powers with the local Nawabs sought to defeat the Marhats who were charging towards Delhi. It was Ahmad Shah Abdali. the Afghan Chief who ordered the making of Zamoma. the Gun.
It was actually cast under the direction of Shah Wall Khan who was the Prime Min toter of Abdali But the man who cast and built ft was Shah Nazir
The first battle in which the gun was used was the battle of Pantpat in 1761 tn which Muslims under the command of Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated the Mar ha I tax
After the battle it was brought to Lahore and left with the Afghan Governor But the next year he was murdered and Harri Singh Bhangi captured the gun and It lay un mounted In the I a ho re Fort for two years
In 1764 when lahna and Gujjar Singh captured Lahore, the gun became their possession The same year ft was of fend as a share of the spoil to Charhat Singh by the captors of l.ahore He now dragged ft to his fort at GuJJaranwalla with the help of 2000 troops
But as fate would have it, the two brothers, over come by greed and jealousy, now quar rclcd for Its possession The resulting fight claimed the lives of two sons of the former and one of the latter. The gun drew blood even when not In a battle.
Gujjar Singh Bhangi now came to the aid of Mohammad Khan but. betraying his ally, he carried the gun to his headquarters at Gujrat.
In 1772. Chaththas recovered it and removed it to Rasul Nagar. But the next year, Jhanda Singh Bhagi captured it and carried it all the way to the Bhangi Fort in Amritsar. And hence the name Bhanglan wall top. Bhangi here being a sub-cast of Gujjars and not the scheduled cast, as Is generally believed.
It remained at the Bhanghi Fort Uli 1802, when Ranjit Singh captured Amritsar and the gun.
Next, the gun built by Mus-lims, was used by Sikhs under Ranjit Singh in his battles and campaigns all over Punjab, particularly at Wazirabad, Daska, Kasur and Multan.
It was during the siege of Multan in the course of those campaigns that the gun was damaged. Unfit for use, it was then removed to lahorc. From 1818 to 1870, it lay outside Delhi Gate Lahore. In 1870. ft was installed at the present site, In the middle of a city changed and altered by the passage of years. — APP