5 revelations in Army Heritage Museum Lahore

Army Museum and Heritage Centre Lahore when we saw after the actual Heritage Museum Lahore, was a complete revelation.

Table of Contents

The theme of Army Museum Lahore

Army museum and heritage Centre Lahore is more focused on military themes with puppets enacting key battles and incidences in Pakistan’s history.
It also has very well presented the ancient history of the Indus Valley of Pakistan.

Comparable Military Museums in Pakistan

This Army Museum is right up there with

Pakistan Air Force Museum, Shahra-e-Faisal, Karachi, and
Even better than Army Museum Rawalpindi,
Army Museum Staff College Quetta.
SSG Museum Cherat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

Also, see Supreme Court Museum & Peshawar Heritage Museum.

Army Museum Lahore Location

The museum is sited on huge lawns in the most secure part of Lahore Cantonment and is a pleasure to walk around in.

Museum Address is Amjad Chaudhary Road, Saddar Town, Lahore Cantonment Punjab.

Army Museum is a Perfect Family spot

Families that can manage to pass the security barrier of Lahore Cantonment would love the place.

Do bring your picnic lunch with you as the local restaurant is more of a fast-food joint.
You can also find ice cream bicycles at the site for kids.
The ticket price for the Army museum and heritage Centre Lahore is Rs 20 for Children under 12 and Rs 50 per adult.
Timings are 0900 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Wednesday.
Thursday and Friday are holidays as the complete institute is being managed by the Army.
Security is tight so don’t bring unnecessary stuff to the Museum
You are allowed to take your Mobile Camera phones inside.

Things to see at Army Museum Lahore

It takes about 1.0 hours to go through all the different museum galleries like

Shuhada,
Chief of Army Staff,
Siachen,
Azadi 1947,
Mughal,
Ancient History of Pakistan,
Pakistan’s Wars 1965 & 71,
East Pakistan / Bangladesh,
Nishan e Haider,
And Terrorism.

The place was open during Corona Epidemic too.

Security is annoyingly tight with soldiers with guns outside and inside the premises

I was admiring the quality of one of the soldiers like puppets when I realized the guy was real.

Thank goodness the guy had a sense of humor.

5 most interesting things at Army Museum Lahore

The first thing I learned about Pakistan’s heritage and history was that the Persian King Darius in 500 BC had sent his surveyor into the Indus Valley to assess prospects of annexing territory.

Darius’s representative sailed from Attock down South and reported, well-established towns, besides hunter-gatherers, cannibalism, and dark-colored folks.

The second thing I found interesting was the quotes of towering political figures of India uttering words of contempt and bigotry towards Pakistan.

The third thing that affected me most was reliving the ghost of East Pakistan’s separation and how it was brought about by a politically weak state of Pakistan.

It would have been better if the Army Museum guys also focus on the truth of the USSR playing a key role in Bangladesh’s creation, to punish Pakistan.

The fourth gallery that nearly got my eyes welled up was the rows and rows of falling soldiers for a cause that was beyond their control.

When a nation loses its national power, no amount of soldier’s blood can compensate for the downside – that’s exactly what happened to Ottoman and Mughal rule.

Noor Jehan’s patriotic song was a little too much for my passionate soul.

“laganay aag jo aye the aashyanay ko…wo sholay apne lahoo say bujha diyay tum ne”

“Rasool e paak ne bahon me le liya hoga…Ali tumahri shuja’at pe jhoomtay hongay”

“Hussain paak ne irshad ye kiya hoga… tumhain Khuda ke Razaein salam kehte hain”

God Bless Pakistan’s warriors – and may the real political leaders step up to the plate.

The fifth most interesting thing was the souvenir shop and burger place inside the museum. I got myself a plate of Army Museum Lahore.

The Cobra Gunship, Mi-17 and other live sized tanks and military vehicles are also nice to see.

The most un-interesting thing at Army Museum Lahore

The most uninteresting thing in the Army museum and heritage Lahore was

The gallery of the Chief of the Army Staff including the British appointed leaders.
What I have learned about the colonial officers is that they had refused Quaid Azam, in sending Pakistani troops into Kashmir, while the Indian side had obliged.
After seeing Lahore Heritage Museum on the Mall Road and then seeing Army Museum Lahore, I realize that it would have been better if Lahore Museum handled all the heritage and history, while the Army museum handled military matters both
Both have stepped into each other’s domain – and have done an average job at it.

This makes the whole exercise counterproductive.

Conclusion

Every family in Pakistan should take their kids to Army Museum Lahore, but first have them see the real heritage and history at Lahore Museum on the Mall road, so that they don’t think Pakistan’s only heritage is warfare.

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Pakistan Heritage and History Zindabad – Pakistani people Pa-yindabad!