5

FORTS OF PUNJAB

Subhash Parihar

In pre-modernSince ancient times, the principal access to the heart of the Indian sub-

continent has been through Punjab. The AryansAmong others (why excluded Aryans?),

the Sakas, Kushanas, Turks, Pathans, and Mughals, all treaded this land of the five rivers,

before proceeding further into India's heartland. Obviously, from the earliest periodthe

strategic points to must have been identified, and mud or brick forts built for their

defence and to check the prospective invaders from this side must have been identified at

an early period of Indian history. And these points must have been defended by mud or

brick forts. But sSadly, in the whole region of Punjab, no fort dating earlier than the

thirteenth 13th century has survived in the whole of Punjab. (PIC 1) Even references to

such structures in the region are absent in ancient or early mediaeval literature.

The earliest literary reference to any fort in the region comes in Minhaj’s

Tabaqat-i Nasiri, completed about 1260 CECE. In context of the arrest of Raziya Sultana

in 1240, Minhaj refers to the fort at Bhatinda (now speltled as Bathinda).1 (PIC 2) About

two centuries later, the erection of a fort named Firuzpur at Sirhind, named Firuzpur, by

the Tughluaq Sultan Firuz Shah (r. 1351‒-88), is mentioned in Tthe Tarikh-i-

Mubarakshahi by Yahiya Sirhindi.2 Although places like Abohar, Ghuram, Sunam and

Samana are frequently cited in the Sultanate chronicles, their forts are not mentioned. But

the former existence of the forts at these places is testified by still existing high mounds.

During the thirteenth 13th and fourteenth 14th centuries, it was the Delhi-Multan route

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road that connected India to the Nnorth-Wwestern world and the above-mentioned towns

lay on this route,. The fourteenover which the 14th- century Moroccan explorer Ibn

Battuta came to India via this route.3

With time, the gradual expansion of the Rajasthan desert made theis Delhi-Multan

route road difficult to traverseinhospitable. The last straw to it was added by the invasion

of Timur in 1398 CE, when he destroyed the major cities along the route. Slowly, a more

nNortherly route, via Sirhind, began to be more frequently used and by the Mughal

period it became the major route link to the Nnorth-Wwest. During the reign of Emperor

Akbar (1556−-1605 CE), as attested by the A’in-i Akbari, along this route forts existed

along this route at Sirhind, Ludhiana, and, Sultanpur Lodhi.4 In addition to these, the A’in

mentions forts at Payal, Tihara, Rupar, Sunam, Ghuram, Machhiwara, Jalandhar, Dasuya,

and Pathankot.5

For Punjab, the eighteenth 18th century was a century period of turmoil. The

waning Mughal authority gave the Sikhs a chance to Sikhs for an uprising. The political

condition of the region stabilized when at the close of the century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh

established himself as the master of the area across the river Sutlej. In the region to the

south of the river, called Malwa, smaller states, mostly under Sikh rulers, came into

existence, most of these under Sikh rulers.

In 1849, within a decade of the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the vast kingdom

created by him was annexed by the British after two bloody wars. But as a result of the

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1857 uprising, the British decided to forsake their policy of further occupation of Indian

territories. The Malwa states of Patiala, Nabha, Kapurthala, Faridkot and Malerkotla, thus

enjoyed a complete century of peaceful existence. Under the protective British umbrella,

free from any fear of outside invasion, each ruler built splendid buildingsmonuments,

including forts.

Although precise classification of the surviving forts of Punjab is difficult as these

were rebuilt or added to by successive rulers, these can be divided into the following

three considerably overlapping broad categories may be distinguished: medieval forts;

those of Ranjit Singh; and those of the Malwa rulers.

Medieval forts

Forts of Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Forts of the Malwa rulers

Medieval Forts

The early forts that survive in varying condition today are the ones at Bathinda and

Shahpur Kandi.

Bhathinda Fort is the only fort one in Punjab about which a lot ofconsiderable

historical information is available from medieval chronicles (figure 21). This fort along

with those of Abohar and Bhatner, commanded the Delhi-Multan route, and formed was a

significant military outpost to check the ingress of invaders from the Nnorth Wwest. Such

strategic location must have necessitated the fortification of the placeBathinda at an early

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period of history. A tradition attributes its foundation to one Bhatti Rao, son of Bala

Nand, who is said to have become the ruler of Punjab in 279 CECE.6 (PIC 3)

Three notable medieval events are associated with this fortBathinda Fort in the

medieval period. First, in 1239 CE, during the reign of Raziya’s reign Sultana at Delhi,

Malik Ikhtiyar al-Din Altunia, the Ggovernor of Bhathinda, rebelled against her.7 She

marched on him to quell the rebellion, but her Turkish nobles mutinied against her and

killed the Abyssinian, Yakut, her Abyssinian lover (Your placement of the word

‘Abyssinian’ later, gives the impression that Raziya had some other lovers too). She was

consigned handed over to Altunia as a prisoner and was kept imprisoned in the fort of

Bhathinda. Later, Altunia brought Raziya round to marry him. Together they made two

attempts to regain the lost throne of Delhi but could not succeed and were finally

murdered near Kaithal (in present -day Haryana). Only tThis event survives in the local

memory and hence locally the fort is called - Raziya’s Fort by people here. Some people

alsomistakenly believe that Raziya committed suicide here by jumping from the fort wall,

which is not trueramparts.

The second major event associated with the fort was the revolt of Paulad Turk-

bacha (a slave of Saiyid Salim, an old amir of Sultan Khizr Khan) in June 1430 CE.8 The

chain of events suggests that Saiyid Salim had hoarded enormous quantities of cash, corn,

and other commodities in the Bhathinda fFort. On his death in March 1430 CE, Sultan

Mubarak Shah (r. 1421-−34[CHK] checked, the dates are correct; this is the period of his

reign) distributed his Saiyid Salim’s iqta’s (grants of land revenue) among his sons. But

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they remained dissatisfied, and. Aat their instigation, Paulad revolted at Bhathinda. He A

shrewdly opponent, he prolonged the insurrection for three and a half years until he was

finally annihilated in November 1433 CE.

The third important event connected with this fort occurred at Bathinda Fort when

Bairam Khan broke out in rebellion against Akbar. He entrusted his property, and his

family, and including a young son Abd al-Rahim, to Sher Muhammad Diwana, the jagir-

holder of Bhathinda.9 But Sher Muhammad took possession of all the goods and chattels

and took delivered Bairam Khan’s family to the Mughal court.

Next wWe next hear ofabout Bhathinda about 1754 when it was conquered by

Maharaja Ala Singh of Patiala. He renamed it Gobindgarh, after the name of the tenth

Guru of the Sikhs. The descendants of Ala Singh held the region along with its fort untill

the merger of their territory in the Indian Union post 1947.

Architecturally, the Bathinda fFort is a formidable structure built on a roughly

rectangular plan, each side extending up to 200 meteres in length (figures 2 and 3). The

extraordinarily thick curtain wall of the fort soars up to 30 meteres, dwarfing everything

in its vicinity. Each corner of the structure is marked by a massive and strong bastion,

with whereas there are eight supplementary bastions on each side, lending it additional

robustness. The only access to the fort is through a monumental gateway whose. But the

architectural details of the gateway indicate its reconstruction during the Sikh period.

From the gateway a steep ramp, after taking two right-angled turns, communicates

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provides access to the top of the curtain wall, while. Other access to the top of the

fortification is by a double flight of steps contained in an arched entranceway leads

towards the middle of each side on the interior. At each corner of the wall was a baradari-

like pavilion, used which perhaps functioned as watch-towers. Originally the fort must

have been surrounded by a moat, filled up at some later date. But for a few rooms on the

upper storey of the gateway, added by the Patiala rulers, there is no administrative or

residential structure stands inside the fort nowtoday. The surviving gurudwara inside also

dates from the nineteenth 19th century (figure 4). (PIC 4)

Shahpur Kandi Fort, built of rubble stone, this fort is picturesquely situated on a

rock on the bank of the river Ravi. It was built constructed during the reign of Emperor

Shah Jjahan (1628-−58) and named after him.

On the annexation of Punjab in 1848, the region of Nurpur (of which Shahpur

Kandi formed a part), became merged in thecame under British territorycontrol. Ram

Singh, the son of Bir Singh who was the last Raja of Nurpur, Bir Singh, made an

unsuccessful attempt to recover the territory from the British.10 In August 1848 he made a

rapid march from the Jammu hills and seized the Shahpur fFort, from where he was

quickly soon ejected.

The demolition of this fort was most probably ordered by the British after the

defeat of Ram Singh in 18949. The surviving remains of the fort do not exhibit any great

architectural detail, with. Oonly a small part of its the enclosing wall is extant now. A

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greater partlarger section of the wall was extanthad survived up to mid-1994 but the

heavy rains during that year made the greater section ofcaused it to crumble. Previously,

its demolition was caused, most probably, by the British, after the fall of its ruler Ram

Singh in 1849.

Forts of Maharaja Ranjit Singh

The forts at Phillaur and Gobindgarh (PIC 5)at Amritsar are attributed to Maharaja Ranjit

Singh (r. 1799−-1839 CE). However, both neither of these were notwas entirely built by

him.

Phillaur Fort, situated to the south of the town, on the road to Ludhiana, the fort

is an imposing and robust brick structure. The building was originally constructed as a

caravansarai for the travellers along the Delhi-Lahore Mughal Hhighway, as a part of the

chain of rest-houses along the route. The architectural character of the surviving gateways

of the sarai indicates its construction during the reign of Shah Jjahan.

During the late eighteenth 18th century when Sikh misls ruled supreme in Punjab,

Phillaur with its sarai was occupied by the Dallewalia misl. In 1807, Aafter the death of

the leader of the misl, in 1807 Ranjit Singh captured the territory. When in 1809, the

British established themselves at Ludhiana, the Maharaja converted had the Mughal

caravanserai at Phillaur converted into a fort by adding a fausse-braye ditch and

bastions.11 An Italian architect is said to have carried out thise task of renovation. Since

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January 1892, the enclosure is being used asas the fort has housed the Punjab Police

Training School.

Gobindgarh FortThe fort was originally built in 1760 by the Sikh chieftain

Gujjar Singh, the leader of another Sikh confederacy —-− the Bhangi misl, in 1760 CE. It

and was called Bhangian-da-Quila, or the fort of the Bhangis (theis strange appellation

Bhangi to was a result of the leader’s was given due to his excessive consumption of the

intoxicant bhang or leaves and flowers buds of the female cannabis plant). Later, after the

death of the leader, the fort was occupied by Maharaja Ranjit Singh who strengthened it

and added. He built in it granaries for his army. The Sstrong ramparts of the fort, made of

brick and lime, run for a length of about one and a half1.5 kilometeres,. Eeach corner of

the fort is strengthened by a massive bastion. The eEntrance to the enclosure is provided

through two gateways (figure 35), one of which is called Nalva Gate, after the legendary

Sikh warrior Hari Singh Nalva. People believe that near one of its gateways was a tunnel

which that connected the fort to Lahore. But However such beliefs tales are utterly

baseless and invented almost about every fort and are usually baseless.

After the dissolution of the Ranjit Singh’s empire in 1849, the fortGobindgarh

came under the control of the British, who added some new structures to it. After

Partition, it became the temporary home ofor numerous refugee families from Pakistan,

until but in October 1948, when it was finally handed over to the Indian Army. (PIC 6)

Forts of the Malwa Rulers

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The imposing structures of this region are found at Patiala, Faridkot and Nabha.

Bahadurgarh FortSis situated to the Nnorth-Wwest of Patiala on the road to

Chandigarh., tThe structure fortification comprises two concentric circular ramparts, the

outer one being 33.5 meteres apart from the inner one(figures 4-51). The outer wall

which is 8.5 meteres high is surrounded by a ditch, 7.62 meteres deep, and 17.7 meteres

wide. The circumference of the fort is about 2.1 kilometeres. Built in over eight years at

an immense cost of rupees one million rupees, Bahadurgarh fort (PIC 7) never faced any

attack as the Patiala rulers had cordial relations with the British and the neighbouring

states were weak.

But, like for the fort at Phillaur, the Bahadurgarh fort too was not built entirely

anew. On this spot there had existed a fortified village called Saifabad, founded by the

Mughal noble Saif Khan, an influential administrator during the reigns ofunder Emperor

Shah Jjahan (1628-58 CE) andas well as his son Aurangzeb (r. 1658-−1707 CE).12 The

magnificent gateway inside the fort and the Jami Mosque were both built by Saif Khan in

1657−58 and 1666−67, respectively (figure 7). After his death, Saifabad was held by his

descendants until in 1774, when Amar Singh, the ruler of Patiala, attacked it. After a

week-long siege, he was able to take possession of the fort. During the Maratha attack on

the territory, in 1790, Saifabad fell into their hands for some time. Later, in 1837, the

Patiala Maharaja Karam Singh laid the foundation of the present fort (figure 9). The He

named itname Bahadurgarh is just a century and a half old and given to it by the Patiala

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ruler Maharaja Karam Singh (1814-45) after the ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur who had

enjoyedvery cordial relations with Saif Khan.

The magnificent gateway inside the fort and the Jami’ Mosque were both built by Saif

Khan in 1657-58 and 1666-67 CE respectively. (PIC 8) After the death of Saif Khan,

Saifabad was held by his descendants until in 1774, when Amar Singh, the ruler of

Patiala, attacked it. After a week-long siege, he was able to take its possession.

During the Maratha attack on the territory, in 1790, Saifabad was placed in their

hands for some time. Later, in 1837, the Maharaja laid the foundation of the present fort.

(PIC 9)

The forts we have described so far were just strategic posts meant for camping armies

usually in tents, and hence bereft of the splendid palaces which that mosta common

visitors expects of a fort becausetheir his imagination has already beenbeing conditioned

by the royal Mughal forts at Agra or Delhi or the magnificent forts of the adjoining state

of Rajasthan. But theHowever, any visitors’s desire for splendour is would be satisfied in

the following three forts we are going to describe, each called Quila Mubarak or the

auspicious fort.

Quila Mubarak, Patiala

Of all the Malwa Sstates, the State of Patiala was the richest and hence its fort the most

splendid. The fortQila Mubarak, Patiala is said to have started its existence in 1763 CE

as a mud-fortress built by Baba Ala Singh, the founder of the Sstate. The successive

rulers Amar Singh (r.eign 1766-−81), Sahib Singh (r. 1781-−1813CE), Karam Singh (r.

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1813-−45CE) and Narendra Narindar Singh (r. 1845−-62 CE) kept oncontinued to

renovateing and adding new structures to it. Spread over an area of about ten acres of

land(over 40,000 square metres), it forms the nucleus of the city (figure 10). (PIC 10)

Architecturally, the fort complex is a judicious combination of Mughal and Rajput

elements. Its main gateway having a veneer of carved red sandstone gives an impression

of delicacy rather than strength (figure 611). (PIC 11) The interior of the fort is divided

into two parts—Quila Berun and Quila Androon, i.e. outer fort and inner fort. Quila

Berun, that surrounds the Quila Androon, accommodates structures like Ranbaas (ladies’

apartments, later used as a guest house), Sard Khana (for European guests), Lassi Khana

(royal kitchen) and Duarbar Hall (Aaudience hall). Of these, the Duarbar Hall where the

rulers of Patiala held their court, is the most splendid building (figure 127). (PIC 12) Now

it houses an Arms and Chandelier Gallery in which are displayed swords, shields, maces,

daggers and other arms. On the surrounding walls of the hall hang oil-paintings of the

Mmaharajas painted by European artists who found a lucrative market at Indian courts.

The most interesting exhibits in this gallery are the chandeliers made of cut-glass,

acquired by Maharaja Narindar Singh.

The Quila Androon part of the complex is entered through a well-protected solid-

looking gateway. This section is crowded with thirteen 13 royal chambers, each

designated as a palace, bearing names like Rang Mahal, Moti Mahal, Sheesh Mahal,

etc.and all exhibiting fine craftsmanship (figure 814). The building called Rang Mahal,

literally meaning ‘a palace for voluptuous sensual enjoyment,’ actually appears to have

been a sort of Diwan-i Khas or the hall of private audience. In the back wall of this hall is

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an alcove where the Mmaharaja could sit, surrounded all around withby very fine

paintings, all framed with glittering golden stucco work in golden colour. (PIC 13) The

Sheesh Mahal, literally meaning ‘aglass palace adorned with glass-mosaics’ no, these

were not glass palaces), is an equally elaborate building having many painted chambers

decorated with pieces of mirror (figure 913). The brilliant wall-paintings in these palaces

of the Quila Androon, executed by master painters in Pahari and Rajasthani styles, can

easily complete with the finest examples anywhere in India. (PIC 14) The themes of these

paintings range from the episodes from in Hindu mythology to traditional love stories, to

and portraits of rulers. These paintings testify are testimony to the fine aesthetic tastes of

the Patiala rulers.

Quila Mubarak, Faridkot

The Sstate of Faridkot was of a modest size, about one-eighth of the size of the its

neighbouring state of Patiala. But not withstanding its sizeNevertheless, its successive

rulers adorned the city with beautiful monuments of all kinds including forts, palaces,

gardens, gateways, guest-houses, and a clock tower. As can may be expected, the city fort

formed was the most significant monument of the Stateof these (figure 1015). (PIC 15)

The fort complexQila Mubarak, Faridkot comprises a number of palaces,

havelis, and other buildings, all surrounded by a high bastioned walls, and entered

through a single magnificent gateway on the its eastern side. (PIC 16) Inside the fort are

the Moti Mahal, Mahal Mubarak, two baradaris, a gurudwara, and some other utilitarian

structures. But, in splendour, none of these can match the Sheesh Mahal, situated on the

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upper storey of the gateway. Since medieval times, such a palace has been an essential

apart of Mughal and Rajput royal forts.

Thise palace comprises a three-aisled hall attached to some smaller rooms. The walls of

the hall are lavishly adorned with panels of glass -mosaics laid in innumerable patterns,

vegetal as well as geometrical. Usually convex glass mirror pieces of mirror have been

used for the purpose. The glass- mosaics are interspersed with floral and geometric

designs finely worked in stucco and. The plaster designs were painted in variegated

colours including gold. In artificial light, the decoration created a dazzling spectacle, each

piece of glass reflecting a separate image of the source of light. Coloured glasses used in

windows added to the effect.

John Lockwood Kipling, the an erstwhile Principal of the Mayo School of Art,

Lahore, saw “‘numerous examples of this fantastic and beautiful but laborious form of

decoration in the old buildings of the Panjab....”’13 He describes the technique of making

glass-mosaics, stating, “‘Small pieces of mirrors are framed in arabesque scrolls wrought

with great delicacy in white plaster. The mirrors are blown in their globes, which are

silvered on the inside and then broken into fragments.”’

The glass-mosaics of Sheesh Mahal in the Faridkot Fort bear close stylistic

resemblance to the work in the Sheesh Mahal in Lahore Fort, the decoration dating from

the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Mughal glass-mosaics, as seen in the Agra Fort are

somewhat different in character.

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 Besides the glass-mosaics, the walls of the Sheesh Mahal in Faridkot also bear

painted vegetal panels with bird figures and borders executed in variegated colours. But

However, the finest painted decoration appears in a small chamber,the Chitrashala or

picture gallery, forming a rooma small chamber of the Sheesh Mahal. Each wall of this

small square room had two large painted panels, all save twomost of them depicting

religious scenes. Seven All but one of these panels still survive. The painted

scenessubjects include Krishna with gopis (milkmaids);, Shiva and Parvati on bull and

lion respectively;, Ganesha with chauri-bearers;, Guru Nanak Dev with his companions

Bala and Mardana;, Guru Gobind Singh on horseback, with a hawk perched on his right

hand;, virahaini nayika (the heroine separated from her lover) standing with her arm

around a plantain tree; and a performance of acrobats. The south wall of theis

cChitrashala also has four vertical rows of small vertical panels, fourteen 14 in all, most

of these depicting nayikas in various moods, often standing against a blank background,

and in some scenes against an architectural backdrop. These murals, most were probably,

were the work of some itinerant Pahari painters.

Quila Mubarak, NabhaIt is the third royal fort of Malwa State fort to survive in

Punjab. The town itself was founded in 1755 by Raja Hamir Singh, and the fort built later

on (figures 1117 and 1812). The interior of the fort is packed with buildings of various

sizes and shapes,. (PIC 17) Tthe most notable feature of the fort isbeing the painted

chamber on the third floor of the eastern polygonal tower of the fort, popularly called

Rani Hall. The chamber resolves itself into a central square space surrounded by

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verandahs. (PIC 18) The walls of the verandahs bear vivid wall-paintings framed in

golden stucco relief work. and The scenes depicting various themes like such as various

the avataras of Vishnu, Durga riding on a lion, Guga Peeir and, Guru Gobind Singh etc.

However, floral and bird motifs dominate the decorative scheme.

Of all the forts of Punjab, only the one at Bhathinda is a protected monument of

the Archaeological Survey of India. Parts of the Quila Mubarak, Patiala, and the Rani

Mahal in the fort at Nabha Fort, have been declared protected by the Directorate of

Cultural Affairs, Archaeology and Museums, Punjab. The others unprotected fortsrest,

sadly, have been left to their fate. (PIC 19)

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 1
REFERENCESNotes

Minhaj, Tabaqat-i Nasiri, I, trans. H.G. Raverty, (repr. Delhi, 1970), pp. 645−-48, 748-−49.
2
Yahiya Sirhindi, The Tarikh-i- Mubarakshahi, trans. H. Beveridge, (repr. Delhi, 1986), pp. 137, 198,
202.
3
The Rehla of Ibn Battuta, trans. Aand commentary Mahdi Husain, (Baroda, 1976), pp. 12−-24.
4
Abul Fazl, The A’in-i Akbari, II, trans. H.S. Jarrett, (repr. Delhi, 1978), pp. 301, 321.
5
Ibid., pp. 300, 301, 320, 322.
6
Wali Allah Siddiqui, Aina-i Brar Bans, I, (Urdu), (Faridkot, 1902), p. 76.
7
Minhaj, Tabaqat-i Nasiri, pp.trans. H.G. Raverty (repr. Delhi, 1970), 645−-48, 748−-49; Isami,
Futuhu’s Salatin, ed. aAnd trans. Agha Mahdi Husain, (Aligarh, 1977), p. 256.
8
Sirhindi, The Tarikh-i- Mubarakshahi, pp. 222–-24, 232, 234–-35, 240.
9
Abul Fazl, Akbarnama, II, trans. H. Beveridge, (repr. Delhi, 1972), pp. 166-−67.
10
Punjab District Gazetteers: Gurdaspur District (1914), (Lahore, 1916), pp. 267.
11
The Punjab A Hundred Years Ago as Described by V. Jacquemont (1831) and A. Soltykoff (1842),
trans. and ed. H.L.O. Garrett, (repr. Patiala, 1971), p. 24; Baron Charles Hugel, Travels in the Kashmir
and Punjab (1845),; repr. Patiala, 1970), pp. 400.
12
For details of Saif Khan’s life and career, see Subhash Parihar, “‘Saif Khan: – A Versatile Mughal
Noble”’, Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society Vol. 52, nNo. 3 (July-−September 2004), pp. 3−-19.
13
J.L. Kipling cited in T.N. Mukharji, Art Manufactures of India (1888),; repr. Delhi, 1974), p. 54.

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