The Grand Trunk Road

Presented to:Prof. Aamir Sohail

Presenter:Hafiz farhan(g1f15bscs0102)

The Grand Trunk Road known as The GT Road . It is called Grand Trunk Road because it has trees on both side of the road . It is the biggest and the longest road of the Southern Asia. This road was built in 16th century by Sher Shah Suri to easily travel from Agra to Safran(That was his village).Passing through Afghanistan it ends at Calcutta. In Pakistan it passes from Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore etc. It is also used for the means of trade.

Sher Shah Suri was the founder of the Sur Empire in North India, with its capital at Delhi. An ethnic Pashtun, Sher Shah took control of the Mughal Empire in 1540. After his accidental death in 1545, his son Islam Shah became his successor.

Photo Taken in Peshawar

Kabul to Bengal

The Sarak-e-Azam or grand highway which was constructed in the Mughal’s era. Later on British ruler gave it the name of Grand Trunk Road (GT Road). Today it is known as the same name which was given by the British. It is the road which connects the North of Subcontinent with East and West. It starts from the Dhaka (Bangladesh) and ends at the Kabul (Afghanistan). It was constructed to link the 3 capitals of Mughal Empire, Delhi, Agra and Lahore. It is the oldest major road of this region.

Baber the first Mughal King got the credit to build it in the year 1520. It was built on those ways which were followed by many legends and warriors of the history like Changaiz Khan and Alexander the great. After 26 kilometers 2000 Stonecutters were used in its construction. The GT Road contains many small and big bridges on its way. Six horses clinic were also made on the sides of this road.

The Jehlum Bridge on GT Road

The colonel bridge on GT road

Regular intervals and forts could also find on its way. The lion of Afghanistan Sher Shah Suri also tried to capture this road from the Mughals. It was a great Highway which was used for the Telegraphs and trains. Many authors gave a high level of importance to this Grand Trunk of GT Road in their books and articles. Everyone uses this road as their mean of transportation. The Mughal King constructed many new cities on the sides of this road. It was the only big road which we have got after the separation from India.

The Capital city of Pakistan was built on the GT Road as well. It was then transformed into a latest highway of four lanes this road connects it with the Lahore the Ex Capital of Mughals. There are many parts of GT Road which are unchanged yet. Taxila is the living example of it where you can observe the old road without any change. Few towers and minarets were made on the GT Road to indicate the distance and intervals. Few of them are still there and tells the glory of the Mughal Empire.

After this mountain pass, the Grand Trunk Road arrives to the suburbs of Taxila, goes down to Lahore and crosses into India at Wahgha. After 2500km, the road ends at Kolkata. The road was built as a dirt track, but in the sixteenth century the Mughal emperors paved it. Nowadays the road is still by far the busiest, wildest road in areas that are now part of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. During the British rulers of colonial India, the road was renamed as the Grand Trunk Road.

This busy asphalted road still forms a vital link for trade and communication for the social strata that live along this region. The road continues to Pakistan near Peshawar through the famous Khyber Pass. This famous international mountain pass, at an elevation of 1,070 m (3,510 ft) above the sea level, is one of the oldest known passes in the world, and connects Afghanistan and Pakistan, cutting through the northeastern part of the Spin Ghar mountains.

'GT', as it's often called, was built about 500 years ago to connect the east and western regions of the Indian subcontinent. Rudyard Kipling called it 'a river of life', but for the modern driver it's a nightmare. The 1,550 mile road is full of trucks and rattling buses manned by drivers without much respect for their lives - or yours. And then there's the cyclists, the pedestrians, the salesmen, the ox carts, the cows, the buffalos...

Over the years, it has functioned both as a major trade route and as a convenient right-of-way for invading armies. GT is considered dangerous not because of risky heights or disheartening road conditions, but because of the traffic congestion. You mustn't be surprised when your car gets into a traffic jam, created by dromedaries using one of the lanes. Trucks, buses, bicycles, pedestrians, and animals have turned parts of this heavily-used road into a major headache. If you’re planning to drive here, you’ll want to be as alert as possible.

http://visitpak.com/the-great-grand-trunk-or-gt-road-of-mughal-empire/ at 1:35 AM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Trunk_Road at 1:40AM

http://topyaps.com/facts-about-grand-trunk-road at 2:10AM

http://www.dangerousroads.org/asia/india/119-grand-trunk-road-india.html at 1:57AM