Long before the modern borders of India and Pakistan were drawn, cities across the subcontinent were designed to reflect direction, power and imperial geography rather than political boundaries. The presence of the Lahori Gate at Delhi’s Red Fort and the Delhi Gate in Lahore stands as a living reminder of that shared, pre-Partition past, shaped by Mughal rule and long-distance trade routes.
The names of Delhi’s historic gates Lahori Gate, Kashmiri Gate, Ajmeri Gate and others were never ornamental. They were functional markers pointing towards major cities, trade corridors and political centres of the Mughal Empire. In an era when movement across regions was fluid, gates were designed to open towards important destinations, not nations.
At the heart of this system stood Shahjahanabad, the city built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century. Anchored by the Red Fort, the city was laid out with ceremonial precision. Its gates connected the imperial capital to the wider empire. The Lahori Gate of the Red Fort faced west, towards Lahore, which at the time was one of the most important Mughal cities after Delhi and Agra. Lahore served as a cultural, administrative and commercial hub, linking the empire to Central Asia.
The Lahori Gate was the Red Fort’s most prominent entrance and was reserved for royal processions, foreign envoys and ceremonial occasions. The road beyond the gate led directly to Chandni Chowk, one of the most important commercial streets of the Mughal era. Over centuries, the gate survived the uprising of 1857, British reconstruction and colonial alterations. Today, it remains politically significant as the site from which India’s Prime Minister hoists the national flag every Independence Day.
In contrast, the Delhi Gate of the Red Fort served a more functional role. Located on the southern side of the fort, it opened towards the city itself and was used by soldiers, workers, craftsmen and officials. Less ornate than the Lahori Gate, it symbolised the everyday movement that sustained the empire. Though often overlooked, it was essential to the fort’s daily functioning and security.
Across the border in present-day Pakistan, Lahore’s historic Delhi Gate mirrors this same logic. Built during Mughal rule, the gate once faced east towards Delhi, then the imperial capital. Merchants, officials and messengers travelled through this gate along the Grand Trunk Road, carrying goods, orders and ideas. Even after the Partition of 1947, Lahore retained the gate’s name, preserving historical memory despite the political rupture.
Historians note that the Mughal approach to city planning treated urban spaces as living maps. Gates reflected roads, relationships and hierarchies rather than nationalism. This philosophy extended beyond emperors. Royal women such as Jahanara Begum and Sirhindi Begum played significant roles in shaping Shahjahanabad through mosques, markets and gardens near these gates, contributing quietly but decisively to urban life.
The fall of the Mughal Empire transformed the symbolism of these gates. After the revolt of 1857, the Red Fort became a site of loss and confinement. Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled, his sons executed, and the fort stripped of its wealth. Yet the gates endured, carrying names that refused to be erased by colonial rule or modern borders.
Today, the Lahori Gate in Delhi and the Delhi Gate in Lahore stand as architectural witnesses to a time when cities were connected by roads, not divided by lines on a map. Their names continue to remind visitors that Delhi and Lahore were once part of a shared political, cultural and economic world, long before history reshaped the region.
In stone and memory, these gates continue to open towards each other.