Forts in India

Forts In India

The capital of each raja or chieftain was a fort around which a township grew and developed; this pattern can be seen in many South Asian cities such as Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan, Lahore, Pune, Calcutta and Mumbai. Two forts in India are UNESCO world heritage sites the Agra fort and the Red fort. The oldest surviving fort in India is the Qila Mubarak at Bathinda which had it origins in 100 AD during the Kushan empire, The Kangra Fort in Kangra believed to have been built by the still surviving Katoch dynasty after the battle of Mahabharta. The fort was written about by the scribes of Alexander the Great, thus making it the oldest fort in India .

Medieval Delhi developed around Chandni Chowk, the township adjoining the Red Fort while and Kolkata came about around Fort William built by the British. Many small towns ranging from Jhansi to Chandragiri grew around forts. Some towns even acquired the names from the forts. Durg is fort in Hindi. Satara was so named because of the seventeen walls of the fort. Then there are famous monuments in certain cities and towns that overshadow the importance of the forts. Agra Fort pales into comparative insignificance against the glory of the Taj Mahal. Khajuraho temples overshadow Rajgarh Fort.

The conquest of, or battles for the forts of India have been significant occasions in Indian history. The capture of Qila Mubarak (Bathinda) in 1004 AD by Mahmud of Ghazni heralded the advent of Islamic rule in India. The struggle of Shivaji against the Mughals in the seventeenth century and his reign occur against the backdrop of forts in the Deccan. The capture of Seringapatam and death of Tippu Sultan in 1799 cemented British rule in South India. The capture of Gawilghur by Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, ended the Maratha threat to British rule in Central India at the time of the Second Anglo-Maratha War.

The flag of independent India was first unfurled from the ramparts of the Red Fort by none other than Jawahar Lal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India on the morning of 15 August 1947. This practice of unfurling of flag followed by a speech by the Prime Minister continues each year on Independence Day. Just after World War II, the Red Fort had been the scene of the famous trial of the Indian National Army.