Kangra Fort set to regain lost grandeur

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 7

The oldest fort of India, the Kangra Fort, is one of the monuments waiting to be adopted by the Centre, but a similar exercise to seek funds for the conservation of the Viceregal Lodge, now housing the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) here, has failed to catch the attention of corporate honchos in 2010.

The much-hyped “Adopt a Heritage” scheme of the Centre may be in the thick of a controversy but the crumbling Kangra Fort, steeped in history, could find a saviour so that the relic could be saved for posterity. Built in times when history was not recorded, the imposing fort, spread over 463 acres, stands on high cliffs, along the Ban Ganga river. As per the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), it is the eight largest fort in the country.

It was in 2010 that the then Director of the IIAS, Prof Peter Ronald de Souza, had pinned hopes on business tycoons for getting funds for conservation of the imperial structure. He had written to industry giants like Sunil Mittal, Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra and Lord Swaraj Paul, having a strong North Indian connection, for implementing the Conservation Master Plan. Some industrialists had bestowed grand generosity as they had given hefty amounts to Harvard and other foreign universities.

The plan, requiring about Rs 80 crore, had been painstakingly prepared by conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah and her expert team, using the adaptive principles. The IIAS was completed in July 1888 under Lord Dufferin and remained the seat of power till Independence. It was also a witness to several important events in the history.

The history

The Kangra Fort was estimated to have been built almost 3,500 years ago by Maharaja Susharma Chamdra, a descendant of the Katoch family. The fort braved several attacks with the first one by Raja Shreshta of Kashmir in 470 AD. The earliest foreign invasions record indicates that it was attacked by Mahmud Ghazni in 1009 AD. Muhammad Bin Tughlaq captured the fort in 1337.

The fort was occupied by the British after the Sikh war of 1846. A British garrison occupied the fort until it was heavily damaged in an earthquake on April 4, 1905. The fort is located on a long and narrow strip of land in the fork between the Manjhi and the Ban Ganga. The fort has 23 bastions and 11 gates.