“Where once Tagore lectured and mushairas were held, now horses neighed, and then nothing”

In February 1900, a group of progressive students from Lahore Medical College (now King Edward Medical College University) came together with a clear goal: to raise public awareness about health and hygiene. They established a forum they named Society for Promoting Scientific Knowledge.

The students used the SPSK as a platform to invite experts to deliver lectures in schools and colleges on various ailments and to promote civic sense. The society charged only a nominal fee from its members and, crucially, published educational pamphlets on common diseases in Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi.

The SPSK didn’t limit itself to health. It also arranged lectures on scientific prodigies. In February 1909, for instance, a memorial was held for Charles Darwin on his birth centenary, featuring luminaries like Lala Ruchi Ram Sahni and SK Dutt. In another notable event at Khalsa College, Amritsar, speakers shared knowledge on the traits children inherit from their parents.

The society’s impact and membership grew rapidly. By 1915, the SPSK boasted over 400 members, including both common citizens and prominent patrons. The society’s pamphlets reached over 100,000 people with information on diseases such as tuberculosis, asthma and diarrhea.

With branches established in Multan, Delhi, Jammu, Rawalpindi and Srinagar, the demand for dedicated premises arose. The Lahore municipal committee awarded the society a tract of land outside Mori Gate. Financial support came notably from Her Excellency Begum Sahiba of Bhopal and the Prince of Faridkot, who each contributed Rs 3,000 for construction.

By November 1917, a 150-plus seat auditorium — the SPSK Hall — had been completed. At its inauguration, Sir Michael Francis O’Dwyer, the lieutenant governor of the Punjab, spoke at length about its significance and lauded the Begum of Bhopal’s generosity.

The SPSK Hall, also known as Anjuman-i-Isha’at-i-Uloom, quickly gained recognition as a centre of learning and scholarship. Over time, its scope expanded to include cultural events like music concerts. For many years, it served as a venue for the All India Music Conference, drawing people from all walks of life.

The SPSK Hall, also known as Anjuman-i-Isha’at-i-Uloom, quickly gained recognition as a centre of learning and scholarship. Over time, its scope expanded to include cultural events like music concerts. For many years, it served as a venue for the All India Music Conference, drawing people from all walks of life.

Historian KK Aziz writes in his memoir, titled Autobiography (1927-48) — Volume 1: “A group of enlightened citizens had built a hall at the periphery of the now-extinct city boundary wall for the promotion of scientific, cultural and social activities. Soon the performance of classical music was included in its agenda. Those who came here included Fayyaz Khan (Agra), Abdul Karim Khan, Abdul Waheed Khan (Kirana), Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas, Bhai Lal Muhammad (Gwalior) and Baray Ghulam Ali Khan…”

Locals, like Muhammad Arshad Khan, a photographer, whose family has long been based in Mori Gate, remember the hall from its days of glory. Khan recalls how the place was popularly known as Laal Patara.

Tragically, after the Partition, the Evacuee Trust Property Board took charge of the SPSK Hall, marking the beginning of its demise. In the words of KK Aziz, “The land grabbers of the area converted it into a stable. Encouraged by official apathy, the squatters began undoing the fabric brick by brick. Thus where once India’s finest voices sang, Tagore lectured, and mushairas were held, now horses neighed, and then nothing.”

The building also came to be used by the local police as a parking lot for prisoners vans. Today, there is no physical trace of the hall. According to Prof Ahmad Saeed, who documented the hall’s history using old newspaper files, in his book, Lahore: Ek Shehr-i- Bemisal — Volume 1, the structure was razed in the early 1970s. It has since been converted into the Urdu Bazaar Chowk that houses a plaque dedicated to the memory of the police officers killed in a blast a few years ago.

The legacy of the SPSK Hall — a pioneering civic initiative that became a cultural and scientific landmark in the subcontinent — is now an erased chapter in Lahore’s history, preserved only in old records and fading memories.

Altaf Hussain Asad is a freelance journalist. He can be reached at altafhussainasadgmail.com