Grand Trunk Road
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Grand Trunk Road (abbreviated to GT Road in common usage) is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For several centuries, it has linked the eastern and western regions of the Indian subcontinent, passing right across the populous cities of Pakistan and India.
Contents |
[edit] Route
Today, the Grand Trunk Road remains a continuum that spans a distance of over 2,500 km and traverses three south Asian countries: Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It starts from Peshawar in Pakistan and passes through Rawalpindi and Lahore before entering India at Wagah. Within India, it passes through Amritsar, Ambala, Delhi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Kolkata. It then enters Bangladesh and ends at Sonargaon in the Narayanganj district of that country.
Within India, the major portion of the road, the stretch between Kolkata and Delhi, is known as NH-2 (National Highway - 2), while the stretch between Delhi and Wagah, at the border with Pakistan, is known as NH-1.
[edit] History
Recent research indicates that during the time of the Maurya empire, overland trade between India and several parts of western Asia and the Hellenic world went through the cities of the north-west, primarily Taxila (located in present day Pakistan)[citation needed]. Taxila was well connected by roads with other parts of the Maurya empire. The Mauryas had built a highway from Taxila to Pataliputra (present-day Patna in Bihar, India). [citation needed]
In the 16th century, a major road running across the Gangetic plain was built afresh by Sher Shah Suri, who then ruled much of northern India. His intention was to link together the remote provinces of his vast empire for administrative and military reasons. The Sadak-e-Azam ("royal road") as it was then known, is universally recognized as having been the precursor of the Grand Trunk Road.
The road was initially built by Sher Shah to connect Agra, his capital, with Sasaram, his hometown. It was soon extended westward to Multan and eastward to Sonargaon in Bengal (now in Bangladesh). While Sher Shah died after a brief reign, and his dynasty ended soon afterwards, the road endured as his outstanding legacy. The mughals, who succeeded the Suris, extended the road westwards: at one time, it extended to Kabul in Afghanistan, crossing the Khyber pass. This road was later improved by the British rulers of colonial India. Renamed the "Grand Trunk Road" (sometimes referred to as the "Long Walk"), it was extended to run from Calcutta to Peshawar and thus to span a major portion of British India.
Over the centuries, the road, which was one of the most important trade routes in the region, facilitated both travel and postal communication. Even during the era of Sher Shah Suri, the road was dotted with caravansarais (highway inns) at regular intervals, and trees were planted on both sides of the road to give shade to the passers-by. On another note, the road also facilitated the rapid movement of troops and of foreign invaders. It expedited the looting raids, into India's interior regions, of Afghan and Persian invaders and also facilitated the movement of British troops from Bengal into the north Indian plain.
The Grand Trunk Road continues to be one of the major arteries of India and Pakistan. The Indian section is part of the ambitious Golden Quadrilateral project. For over four centuries, the Grand Trunk Road has remained "such a river of life as nowhere else exists in the world".
[edit] See also
[edit] Literature
- Farooque, Abdul Khair Muhammad (1977), "Roads and Communications in Mughal India."
- Weller, Anthony, "Days and Nights on the Grand Trunk Road: Calcutta to Khyber" Marlowe & Company, 1997
- Rudyard Kipling's, Kim, considered one of Kipling's finest works, is set mostly along the Grand Trunk Road. Free e-texts are available, for instance here.
