THE CULTURAL BACKGROUND OF LAHORE AND MELA CHIRAGAN

Lahore has been of special importance in its geographical, political, economic, cultural, academic, literary and social status since ancient times. This city also has been famous for mosques, shrines, tombs, samadhies, temples, cemeteries, historical buildings, ancient mansions and lost memories. Historically, "Lahore" has been the name of a small town, a city and a province. Where Lahore had the honor of being a city of commercial, scientific and literary importance in India, it was also the place of various civilizations and cultures. It has also been the center of governments, movements and religions. Nothing can be said definitely about the first establishment of Lahore as a city. However, historians and researchers have definitely established their opinions in this regard. In present research paper those opinions have been critically analyzed. The annual Urs of Lahore's ancient Sufi poet Hazrat Shah Hussain Lahori and his disciple Hazrat Madhu Lal Qadri is celebrated not only as a religious devotion and respect but also as a cultural festival. Before the partition, the festival held on the occasion of the annual Urs of Madhu Lal Hussain was the largest cultural gathering of united India. Now it is an important cultural and religious event of Pakistan. In present article different aspects of the topic have been discussed in detail