Sir Ganga Ram
Encyclopedia
Sir Ganga Ram KCSI
(April 1851 – July 10, 1927) was an eminent civil engineer
born in Mangtanwala
, a small village of Punjab Province in British India now in Punjab, Pakistan and educated at the Thomason College of Civil Engineering (now IIT Roorkee) 1873 batch. He was a leading philanthropist
and agriculturist
of his times, who established the Renala Hydral Power Station in Renala Khurd
, Punjab in 1925.
, about 64 km from Lahore
. His father, Doulat Ram was a junior Sub inspector 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
, Lahore in 1869. In 1871, he obtained a scholarship to the Thomason Civil Engineering College at Roorkee
. He passed the final lower subbordinate examination with the gold medal in 1873. He was appointed Assistant Engineer and called to Delhi
to help in the building of the Imperial Assemblage.
by water lifted by a 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 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 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 but his name was not included in the New Year Honors list. Consequently, he retired prematurely from service in 1903.
He designed and built General Post Office, Lahore
, Lahore Museum
, Aitchison College
, Mayo School of Arts (now the National College of Arts
), 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 The Mall and Lady Maynard Industrial School. He also constructed Model Town, once the best locality of Lahore, the powerhouse at Renala Khurd
as well as the railway track between Pathankot and Amritsar
He built Sir Ganga Ram Hospital
, Lahore
(1921), Lady Mclagan School and Renala Khurd Power House with his own money. Another hospital Sir Ganga Ram Hospital
, Delhi
was built in 1951.
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 district Faisalabad(then Lyalpur) Tehsil Jaranwala, Ganga Ram built a unique travelling facility, it was Gora Train(horse pulled train). It was a railway line from Buchiana Railway station (on Lahore Jaranwala railway line) to the his village Gangapur. It remained in use for decades even after Independence. It became useless for need of repair in 80s. It was unique of its kind. It was two simple trollies pulled on a narrow rail track with horse instead of railway engine.
) on lease and by using engineering skills and modern irrigation methods, turned the arid lands into fertile fields.
and the rest buried in Lahore on the bank of the Ravi.
, the famous Urdu writer, in one of his stories on the frenzy of religious riots of 1947 writes that an inflamed mob in Lahore, after attacking a residential area, ‘turned to attacking the statue of Sir Ganga Ram, the Hindu
philanthropist. 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 were the fellow with the garland of old shoes. As he fell, the mob shouted: “Let us rush him to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.”
.
The Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan was partially damaged in the blasts that destroyed a nearby Police Station on May 27, 2009.
Today, his great-grandson, Dr. Ashwin Ram
is an Associate Professor
in the School of Interactive Computing
in the College of Computing of the Georgia Institute of Technology
, while his greatgranddaughter, Shreela Flather, Baroness Flather
, is a teacher and British politician.
was built after his death in 1927, the tomb is now in need of repair.
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
(April 1851 – July 10, 1927) was an eminent civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
born in Mangtanwala
Mangtanwala
Mangtanwala is a town of nankan saib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located at 31°22'20N 73°50'40E with an altitude of 190 metres ....
, a small village of Punjab Province in British India now in Punjab, Pakistan and educated at the Thomason College of Civil Engineering (now IIT Roorkee) 1873 batch. He was a leading philanthropist
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
and agriculturist
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
of his times, who established the Renala Hydral Power Station in Renala Khurd
Renala Khurd
Renala Khurd is a growing city of Okara District in the north east of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of Renala Khurd Tehsil - an administrative subdivision of the district. Its approximate height above sea level is about...
, Punjab in 1925.
Early life
Ganga Ram was born in 1851 in MangtanwalaMangtanwala
Mangtanwala is a town of nankan saib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located at 31°22'20N 73°50'40E with an altitude of 190 metres ....
, about 64 km from Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
. His father, Doulat Ram was a junior Sub inspector at a Police Station in Mangtanwala. Later, he shifted to Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
and became a copy-writer of the Court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
. Here, Ganga Ram passed his matriculation examination from the Government High School and joined the Government College
Government College University
Government College University, Lahore is a co-educational public university located on The Mall in Lahore, Pakistan...
, Lahore in 1869. In 1871, he obtained a scholarship to the Thomason Civil Engineering College at Roorkee
Roorkee
Roorkee is a city and seat of a municipal council in Uttarakhand, in far northern India. It is located on the banks of the Ganges canal on the national highway between Delhi and Dehradun. Roorkee is known for Roorkee Cantonment, one of the country's oldest cantonments, and the headquarters of...
. He passed the final lower subbordinate examination with the gold medal in 1873. He was appointed Assistant Engineer and called to Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
to help in the building of the Imperial Assemblage.
Engineer
In 1873, after a brief Service in Punjab P.W.D devoted himself to practical farming. He obtained on lease from Government 50,000 acres (200 km²) of barren, unirrigated land in Montgomery District, and within three years converted that vast desert into smiling fields, irrigatedIrrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
by water lifted by a hydroelectric plant
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
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 Governor of Punjab
Governor of Punjab
Governor of Punjab may refer to:* List of Governors of Punjab , of the pre-independence Punjab province of British India* List of Governors of Punjab , of Punjab state in India...
, "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 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 but his name was not included in the New Year Honors list. Consequently, he retired prematurely from service in 1903.
He designed and built General Post Office, Lahore
General Post Office, Lahore
The General Post Office is the main post office in Lahore, Pakistan as well as the country's largest. It is located at GPO Chowk, Mall Road near Anarkali. On average it handles 20,000 pieces of mail per day.-History:...
, Lahore Museum
Lahore Museum
Lahore Museum , established in 1894, is located in The Mall, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Rudyard Kipling's father, John Lockwood Kipling, was one of the famous curators of the museum. Over 250,000 admissions were registered in 2005.-Attractions:...
, Aitchison College
Aitchison College
Aitchison College, Lahore, is one of the most prestigious educational institutions of its kind in South Asia. Established in 1886, it has retained its character over the years, maintaining the public school tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports and co-curricular activities...
, Mayo School of Arts (now the National College of Arts
National College of Arts
The National College of Arts Lahore, usually referred to by its acronym NCA, is a famous old college in Lahore, Pakistan.Like all old institutions, the National College of Arts, has a historical tradition. Much of its present tone was set long ago when it was known as the Mayo School of Arts...
), Ganga Ram Hospital
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital can refer to:* Sir Ganga Ram Hospital * Sir Ganga Ram Hospital...
, Lady Mclagan Girls High School, the chemistry department of the Government College University, the Albert Victor wing of Mayo Hospital
Mayo Hospital
Mayo Hospital is one of the oldest and biggest hospital in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. King Edward Medical University is the attached university which is Pakistan's most prestigious and South Asia's second oldest institution.-History:...
, Sir Ganga Ram High School ( now Lahore College for Women), the Hailey College of Commerce
Hailey College of Commerce
Hailey College of Commerce is a constituent undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate college of the University of the Punjab in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Established on March 4, 1927, it is the oldest specialized institution of commerce in Asia. It was first situated on the university's old...
, Ravi Road House for the Disabled, the Ganga Ram Trust Building on The Mall and Lady Maynard Industrial School. He also constructed Model Town, once the best locality of Lahore, the powerhouse at Renala Khurd
Renala Khurd
Renala Khurd is a growing city of Okara District in the north east of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of Renala Khurd Tehsil - an administrative subdivision of the district. Its approximate height above sea level is about...
as well as the railway track between Pathankot and Amritsar
He built Sir Ganga Ram Hospital
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (Pakistan)
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is a hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, it was originally established by Sir Ganga Ram, a Hindu Civil Engineer in the British Government at Lahore in 1921. In 1946 the family of Sir Ganga Ram started a medical college by the name Balak Ram medical College named after a son of Sir...
, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
(1921), Lady Mclagan School and Renala Khurd Power House with his own money. Another hospital Sir Ganga Ram Hospital
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (India)
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is a 650-bed multi-speciality state-of-the-art hospital in Rajinder Nagar, Delhi. It provides comprehensive medical services to patients from all over Southeast Asia and is regarded as one of the leading healthcare institutions in India...
, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
was built in 1951.
Service in Patiala State
He became Superintending Engineer in Patiala StatePatiala State
Patiala State was a princely state in India.The history of Patiala state starts off with the ancestor of the Sikh Patiala Royal House, Mohan Singh being harassed by neighbouring Bhullars and Dhaliwals . They would not allow Mohan to settle there. He was a follower of Guru Hargobind and the Guru...
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 district Faisalabad(then Lyalpur) Tehsil Jaranwala, Ganga Ram built a unique travelling facility, it was Gora Train(horse pulled train). It was a railway line from Buchiana Railway station (on Lahore Jaranwala railway line) to the his village Gangapur. It remained in use for decades even after Independence. It became useless for need of repair in 80s. It was unique of its kind. It was two simple trollies pulled on a narrow rail track with horse instead of railway engine.
Agriculturalist
He was a promising agriculturist, too. He purchased thousands acres of barren land in Lyallpur (now FaisalabadFaisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
) on lease and by using engineering skills and modern irrigation methods, turned the arid lands into fertile fields.
Death
He died in London on July 10, 1927. His body was cremated and his ashes were brought back to India. A portion of the ashes were consigned to Ganges RiverGanges River
The Ganges or Ganga, , is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it...
and the rest buried in Lahore on the bank of the Ravi.
Sir Ganga Ram in literature
A statue of Sir Ganga Ram once stood on Mall Road in Lahore. Saadat Hasan MantoSaadat Hasan Manto
Saadat Hassan Manto was a short story writer of the Urdu language. He is best known for his short stories, 'Bu' , 'Khol Do' , 'Thanda Gosht' , and his magnum opus, 'Toba Tek Singh'....
, the famous Urdu writer, in one of his stories on the frenzy of religious riots of 1947 writes that an inflamed mob in Lahore, after attacking a residential area, ‘turned to attacking the statue of Sir Ganga Ram, the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
philanthropist. 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 were the fellow with the garland of old shoes. As he fell, the mob shouted: “Let us rush him to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.”
.
Legacy
A student hostel, Ganga Bhawan was established at IIT Roorkee (erstwhile University of Roorkee) on Nov 26, 1957 in his honour.The Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan was partially damaged in the blasts that destroyed a nearby Police Station on May 27, 2009.
Today, his great-grandson, Dr. Ashwin Ram
Ashwin Ram
Dr. Ashwin Ram is an Associate Professor in the School of Interactive Computing in the College of Computing of the Georgia Institute of Technology, an Associate Professor of Cognitive Science, an Adjunct Professor in the School of Psychology, and an Adjunct Professor in Department of Math &...
is an Associate Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
in the School of Interactive Computing
Interactive computing
In computer science, interactive computing refers to software which accepts input from humans — for example, data or commands. Interactive software includes most popular programs, such as word processors or spreadsheet applications. By comparison, noninteractive programs operate without human...
in the College of Computing of the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, while his greatgranddaughter, Shreela Flather, Baroness Flather
Shreela Flather, Baroness Flather
Shreela Flather, Baroness Flather is a teacher and British politician.She became a life peer for the Conservative party in 11 June 1990 as Baroness Flather, of Windsor and Maidenhead in the Royal County of Berkshire. She was the first Asian woman to receive a peerage...
, is a teacher and British politician.
Tomb
His SamadhiMausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
was built after his death in 1927, the tomb is now in need of repair.
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)
See also
- AgrawalAgrawalAgrawal or Agarwal is a large and influential community in India. Agrawals are Kshatriya by birth of the Solar Dynasty but after the adoption of Vanika dharma by king Agrasena, Agrawals started dealing in business...