Experts reveal the history behind city names in Punjab

Lahore is a linguistic anomaly of ‘Loh Kot’

LAHORE:

The names of different cities or regions are unique and amazing. Behind these names lie incredible stories not known to many people, however folklore narrate tales and traditions that led to the naming.

Sociologist Naeem Murtaza says that most of the cities and regions were named after famous personalities, families, tribes and professions.

“Many cities are also named after different trees. With the passage of time, people have forgotten the real names of these cities and towns and now we know these cities and towns by their 'twisted' or new names,” he explained.

A professor at Government College Lahore, Sardar Kalyan Singh Kalyan, who has a keen eye on the history of Punjab, said that many cities and towns in Punjab are currently known by their distorted names, and their real names were different.

“Their names were actually different over various epochs, determined by the language spoken by the people during those times,” Sardar Kalyan Singh enunciated.

Names changed with the passage of time and we cannot predict what will become of these in the future, the professor added.

“Lahore’s original name was found to be ‘Loh Kot’ in Rajput documents which means the fort of Loh.”

“According to the Hindu religious book, Ramayana, this settlement was established by Lava or Loh, son of Ramchandra and named as Lavapuri (city of Lava in Sanskrit). With the passage of time, the name was linguistically distorted and commonly mispronounced as Lahore,” he detailed.

“Information obtained from various articles and historical books reveals that Kasur was historically named after Kasu, the second son of Ramchandra.”

The book Abhichitra Natak by Sikh Guru Gobind Singh asserts that Kasur was inhabited under the name of Kasha or Kasu after Ram’s son, the professor said.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, he said, Rawalpindi was home to Rawal community and was founded by Chaudhry Jhande Khan Rawal in the 15th century.

“Toba Tek Singh, on which a well-known story was written, was named after a Sikh man named “Tek Singh” who severed water from a pond known as ‘Toba’ in Punjabi.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2020.