FORTS of INDIA Anurit Vema
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FORTS OF INDIA Anurit Vema *'9^7” \ < > k M' . J . i <• : » I : *='>- >.% ' nvjl •I' 4 V FORTS OF INDIA ■ \ f 0i''. ■ V'; ’ V, , ’' I* ;■'; -r^/A ci''> Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Public.Resource.org https ;//archive.org/details/fortsofindiaOOverm JAMkJ AND KASHMIR FORTS OF INDIA HARIPARBAT "■^Arot kangraW ( HIMACHAL\ ( .' V.PRADESH\ r PUNJAB S', i /kalibangM ■'HARYANA > ARUNACHAL PRADESH ®BIKANER \ A/ D. 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The twundary of Meghalaya shown on this map is as interpreted from the Nonh-Eestern Areas (Reorgamaaiion) Act, 1971. but has yet to be venlied 49 FORTS OF INDIA AMRIT VERMA PUBLICATIONS DIVISION MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING GOVERNMENT OF INDIA May 1985 {Jyaistha 1907) ® Publications Division Price : Rs. 42 PUBLISHED BY THE DIRECTOR PUBLICATIONS DIVISION MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING GOVERNMENT OF INDIA PATIALA HOUSE NEW DELHI-UOOOl Sales Emporia * Publications Division Super Bazar Connaught Circus New Delhi-110001 Commerce House Currimbhoy Road Ballard Pier Bombay-400038 8 Esplanade East Caloutta-700069 LL Auditorium Anna Salai Madeas-600002 Bihar State Co-Operative Bank Building Ashoka Raj Path Patna-800004 Press Road Trivandrum-695001 10—B Station Road Lucknow-226001 State Archaeological Museum Building Public Garden Hyderabad-500004 Printed At Aroek Press 5 Deshbandhu Gupta Road New Delhi-110055 Preface This work is devoted to forts from antiquity to the present day India. To consign such a sweep to a handy size of 110 pages imposed the need of either sacrificing the coverage or the details, neither of which can be to the liking of an author. But bound as I was to this limit I had no way but to be ruthless with both facts and presentation, of course without omitting or losing any¬ thing of consequence. Forts in India—ranging from Kalibangan to Fort William, Kalibangan being the most ancient and Fort William the latest one—are legion and it was a gigantic task to pick out the important ones for writing about from amongst the list of tens of hundreds scattered in gazetteers and other'sources. The criterion for selection I adopted was the worthiness for defence and architecture, as also their competence in facing incursions and sieges. I hope the forts thus selected and which find place in this work will sustain reader's interest and make interesting reading. A critical study shows that Rajasthan, Gujarat and Deccan abound with forts though in the heartland of India there were massive forts, viz. Gwalior, Kalinjar. The capital, Delhi, had, of course, a good many forts gifted by dynasties that ruled. The printed literature on forts of India is scanty and that which is available lays stress either on architecture or defence or history. Exceptions are Kamalapuri's Forts of Maharashtra and Dr. N.S. Ramachandra Rao's Forts in Ancient and Medieval Andhra—A Study, the latter a thesis for doctorate. Similar studies on forts of Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh can be taken up by scholars. In the present work, my effort has been to acquaint readers with varied information not excluding myths and legends associated with some of the major forts of the country, scattered over its length and breadth. This may perhaps fill in the lacuna and help the reader to acquaint himself with forts, most of which are majestic despite passage of time. In describing the forts I have kept in vie^ their specialities. For instance, Agra Fort abounds in buildings and these are mentioned in the write up, but not those in Chitor Fort whose forte was valour. Fortt provided protection from enemies. From their ramparts the enemy movements could be watched; and provisions, stores, water, and ammunition etc. inside the forts helped the army to face the assaults and also to carry out aggressive designs against the enemy outside. Modern warfare has changed the entire complex; satellites have rendered heights of no consequence, supplies are made by air, and even petrol can be filled in the sky or at sea. Yet the concepts of forts or the strategy of fortification retain their utility. For, seen critically, can we, for instance, deny that the underground bunker is the reverse of the fort ? The subject of forts deserves an intensive and exhaustive study. But this is possible only if it is taken up as a project by an institute such as the Institute of Advanced Studies or the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library which can offer a fellowship. A word about the spellings of proper nanries. I have followed the Cambridge History of India and An Advance History of India, though I do not agree with some of the spellings in these works. To me Chittor has greater appeal than Chitor. I prefer Babar to Babur, and so on. Yet, to avoid confusion, I have kept to the right of the authorities of the works mentioned above. In writing this book I have largely relied on published material available in the libraries of the National Museum, Archaeological Survey of India, National Archives of India and P&T Board and thank their librarians for the facilities they provided me. 1 also thank many of my friends from different parts of the country from whom I could collect information of sorts on forts in their parts of the country. I thank Shri M. Swaminathan for typing out the manuscript. Also, I thank Dr. S.S. Shashi, but for whose reminders I could have still continued with my pursuit. My thanks are also dueto the Photo Section of the Archaeolo¬ gical Survey of India which supplied the photographs of the forts of Kalinjar, Kumbalgarh, Dhaboi, Champanir, Ahmedabad, Shivner, Sinhgarh, Raigarh, Rohtasgarh and Panhala, and Shri Kaushal Bhargava of Jaipur who made available two colour transparencies of Ranthambhore and Jaisalmer at a very short notice. Though one need not make one's sentiments about one's spouse public, I do take the liberty of recording my affectionate thanks to my husband Shri H.N. Verma who gave me unsparing support in whatever I demanded of him. AMRIT VERMA Contents Forts in Ancient India 1 Generai 6 * * 1. DELHI 7 2. GWALIOR 12 3. KALINJAR 15 4. KOT KANGRA 18 Forts of Rajasthan 21 5. JAISALMER 23 6. RANTHAMBHORE 24 7. CHITOR 27 8. KUMBHALGARH 30 9. JODHPUR 31 10. BIKANER 33 11. AMBER 35 Forts of Gujarat 37 12. DABHOI 38 13. CHAMPANIR 41 14. AHMEDABAD 43 Forts of Deccan 45 15. DAULATABAD 47 16. WAR AN GAL 49 17. VIJAYANAGAR 51 18. GULBARGA 53 19. GOLKUNDA 55 20. AHMADNAGAR 57 21. BIDAR 59 22. BIJAPUR 61 Afghan Forts 65 23. MAN DU 67 24. ROHTASGARH o 68 25. CHUNAR 71 Mughul Forts 75 26. ALLAHABAD • 77 27. HARI PARBAT 79 28. AGRA 81 Maratha Forts 85 29. SHIVNER . 87 30. SINHGARH 88 31. RAIGARH * 90 32. PANHALA 93 . South Indian Forts 95 33. SRIRANGAPATAM 97 34. GINGEE 99 Modern Forts 101 35. BHARATPUR 103 English Forts 107 36. FORT WILLIAM 109 Other Forts 111 Glossary 113 Bibliography 117 Index 121 Forts in Ancient India FORTS as defensive measures existed in ancient India, perhaps even before the third millennium when the Indus Valley civilisation flowered over a large area in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent. This may sound very ancient to us but elsewhere forts were built much earlier. For instance, Jericho city had a fortress as early as 7003 B.C. It had a 21 feet high wall encompassing an area of 10 acres and a 15 feet wide and 9 feet deep outer moat to protect the city. The Great Wall of China was built to discourage incursions of nomadic tribes by Emperor Shih Huang Ti in the 3rd century B.C. Compared to these, Indus Valley civilisation is younger. ii Excavations at sites of the Indus Valley have unearthed palaces, defen¬ sive and offensive weapons and fortifications. Mohenjodaro and Harappa are two such earlier sites. Mohenjodaro had a 50 feet high citadel fortified by a baked brick wall and solid towers. On its summit were a long building (230x78 feet), perhaps the residence of a high official or priest, and a granary. The fortified citadel mound of Harappa with its rampart of mud brick tapered upward from a 40 feet base and a similar tapering external pavement of baked brick. In the 3000-yards space between the mound and the river were barrack¬ like blocks of workmen's quarters as also granaries in 1000 sq. yd. floor space. The mounds of Kalibangan and Lothal belong almost to the same culture. Kalibangan, 100 miles south-east of Harappa, in the Ganganagar district of Rajasthan (and in the dry valley of the Ghaggar formerly known as Saraswati) had two small mour\ds, one smaller than the other. The"smaller one had a citadel whose platforms were surrounded by walls with rectangular bastions. The southern side had an entrance built and a towered wall that was useful for defence.