Kangra Fort: 1,000 years on one rock

Kangra Fort is the largest fort in the Himalaya and one of the oldest in India. It stands on a steep spur where the Banganga meets the Patal, and whoever held it controlled the Kangra valley. Its story is a compressed version of the region's whole history.

The temple fortress

The fort grew up around the wealthy temple of Ambika Devi (Brajeshwari) and was the seat of the Katoch rulers of Trigarta. Its reputation for treasure made it a target: Mahmud of Ghazni sacked the temple in 1009, and Firuz Shah Tughlaq's forces reached it in 1360.

Mughal garrison

The Mughals wanted the fort badly. Akbar's attempts failed, but after a fourteen-month siege Jahangir's army took it in 1620. A Mughal garrison then held Kangra Fort for 168 years while the Katoch rajas ruled the countryside around it.

Sansar Chand and the Sikhs

In 1786 the Katoch ruler Sansar Chand recovered the fort as Mughal authority collapsed, and used it as the base for two decades of dominance over the hill states. When the Gurkhas besieged him he called in Maharaja Ranjit Singh; the Sikhs lifted the siege in 1809 but kept the fort, holding it until the British took Punjab.

The 1905 earthquake

The British garrisoned Kangra Fort after 1846. The great Kangra earthquake of 4 April 1905 wrecked much of the structure and killed the small garrison and their families. It was never regarrisoned. The ruins, with the temples inside, are now looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Sources

• Wikipedia — Kangra Fort
• Wikipedia — 1905 Kangra earthquake
• Archaeological Survey of India — Kangra Fort