Grand Trunk Road
The Grand Trunk Road ( GT Road shortly ) is the English name of a remote road in South Asia. It is among the oldest and most important highways of Asia. The 2500 km long road follows in much of the north Indian plains and has for centuries been a trade route between the present states of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Starting or end points of the Grand Trunk Road in the west of the Khyber Pass ( English: Khyber Pass ) and Kolkata in the east. From Peshawar in Pakistan, the road passes through Rawalpindi and Lahore to the India-Pakistan Wagah border crossing. In India, it leads through the cities of Amritsar, Ambala, New Delhi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Kolkata. In Bangladesh, it ends in Sonargaon in Narayanganj district. In India, the largest section of the road, the road between Kolkata and Delhi the name of National Highway 2 (NH -2), while the section between Delhi and Wagah, the road is called NH -1.
History
Already at the time of the ancient Mauryan Empire part of the road was used by the Greeks, among others. In the 16th century the street from the Sultan Sher Shah was expanded to create a connection between Agra, his capital, and Sasaram, his hometown. It was called Sarak -i -Azam ( " Royal Road " ) and formed the basis of the Grand Trunk Road. Over time, the road won a great importance as a national trade route. Shortly after its establishment, the street was lined with numerous caravanserais. Furthermore, were soon planted trees for shade along the road. She served henceforth also to improve transport infrastructure and the relocation of military units. Shortly after the construction of the road was westward to Multan and eastward to Sonargaon in Bengal (now Bangladesh) extended. After the death of Sher Shah in 1545, the road was extended to the west, through the Khyber Pass in the Hindu Kush to Kabul in Afghanistan today. Under the British rule - renamed Long Walk - the road was again extended until after Kolkata and Peshawar.
During the partition of India in 1947, when Pakistan was created, the Grand Trunk Road was the scene of one of the worst refugee dramas of modern history, as the Hindus fled towards the center into what is now India and the Muslim East as westward fled, in the present states of Pakistan and Bangladesh.