Heera Mandi, the oldest red-light district of Lahore, has a history which goes back centuries. The women who lived there were celebrated dancers and poets, and even helped in India's Independence movement. This is their story.
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00:00In Heeramandi, not the British, but Malika Jaan's coin runs.
00:07Many kings ruled over the oldest red-light district of Lahore, known as Heeramandi.
00:14But it was the courtesans who had the most power.
00:17The story of Heeramandi is as interesting as the women who lived there.
00:21Sir, these two wives are very powerful.
00:24And they have the Nawabs under their thumbs.
00:28The history of Heeramandi goes back to the Mughal era, when it was known by a different name,
00:33Shahi Mohalla, the royal neighbourhood.
00:36It was a place where courtesans brought art and culture to life.
00:40But these courtesans were not the sex workers of that time.
00:46They were trained musicians and singers.
00:48It's very ambitious, it's very big, it's very vast.
00:51It tells you of the story of the courtesans.
00:54Pre-independence, they kept music and poetry and dance and the art of living.
00:59The politics within the courtesans and how to emerge as the winner.
01:05It is said that after Maharaja Ranjit Singh took over Punjab,
01:08he fell in love with a local Muslim courtesan named Muran.
01:13He even built a separate mansion for her.
01:18After Singh's death in 1839,
01:20his general-turned-Prime Minister, Heera Singh Dogra,
01:22used Shahi Mohalla as an economic centre
01:26and built a food grain market in the area.
01:28It was for this reason, people said that at Heeramandi,
01:31one could find grains in the morning and diamonds at night.
01:36That's how it got its name, the Diamond Market.
01:41Courtesans had always enjoyed a respected position in society.
01:46But this changed when the British took over.
01:51When the British withdrew their patronage,
01:53the area's association with prostitution began.
02:04But these women eventually found themselves playing
02:06a significant role in India's freedom struggle.
02:10During the 1857 First War of Independence,
02:12their kothas became hideout spots for Indian rebels.
02:15The women helped in arranging funds and even took up arms.
02:21But their contribution in the fight for freedom
02:23has largely remained forgotten.
02:26Today, Heeramandi is a busy food and shopping spot in Lahore,
02:29but as night falls, the shadows of prostitution still linger.
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