Maharaja Ranjit Singh Fort — Attraction in Punjab

The Phillaur fort has a fascinating history behind it. Situated on the Grand Trunk Road, it has a great historical background. The town of Phillaur in which the fort is located owes it origin to a Sanghera Jat, Phul, who named it after himself as “Phulnagar”. The Naru Rajputs of Mau, a nearby township, had cast covetous eyes on Phillaur and eventually under their Chief Rae Shahr they wrested it from the Jats. Rae Rattan Pal, the son of Rae Shahr, liked it so much that he abandoned Mau and settled in Phillaur. The Jats then left the place.Later, however, at some period unknown, the Rajputs also deserted it. Nothing is known thereafter until the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1627-1658) when an imperial Sarai was built at Phillaur. Later, the town was occupied by Kakarah Sikhs and held until Mahraja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) seized all the Kakarah Estates. After the collapse of the Mughal Empire, Maharaja Ranjit Singh sent Dewan Mohkam Chand,about the year 1809, to take possession of the Imperial Serai and converted it into a formidable Fort with the help of his French and Italian officers, namely Generals Ventura, Allard, and Avitabile. It was built in reply to the British who had built a small Fort at Ludhiana on the remnants said to be of an old Lodhi Fort, and to guard the ferry of Phillaur. The British occupied this Fort in 1846 after the Sikhs were defeated in the battle of Aliwal. Phillaur, thereafter, became a Cantonment and Fort remained under the charge of Army authorities till 1890 when it was handed over to the Civil authorities and has been used thereafter for police training purposes. The fort was renamed as 'Maharaja Ranjit Singh Fort' by the Punjab Government by a notification dated 6th April, 1973.The fort enshrines under one of its domes the mausoleum of a saint fondly remembered as Pir Baba Abdullah Shah Ji. He had sacrificed his life to uphold the human values of love and kindness as per the following legend. A wall of the fort constructed during day time under orders of Maharaja Ranjit Singh would mysteriously collapse during the night and thus affected the work. The Maharaja was advised by religious heads to offer sacrifice of some male person belonging to the priest class who should be the only son of a widow. A Brahmin boy of Phillaur, who fulfilled these conditions, was brought before Maharaja Ranjit Singh for the sacrifice, The wails and lamentations of boy's mother attracted the attention of Pir Abdullah Shah who lived nearby. The Pir offered himself for the sacrifice and petitioned to the Maharaja to accept him as he fulfilled all the conditions. The Maharaja agreed to the offer and the boy was released. Pir Abdullah Shah, it is said, was then immured alive in the north eastern wall of the fort and the construction of the fort was thus completed. The Mazar, over the years has been a source of great spiritual inspiration to the police personnel and the people who come from near and far away places to pay their respects to the revered Pir and...

I am a trainee at mrs ppa from andaman undergoing prob. Sub Inspector basic course, loving each and every moment here, the training is tough, instructors are highly trained, the place teaches highest discipline which is going to be helpful throughout my life. The place has a lot of history attached to it, you will surely enjoy the vibes once you enter the place. Public is allowed only on thursdays. It has a pëër baba mazar which is believed to be protecting this place from all the evil. The people are just so good, such friendly and helpful nature. It has many hostels for trainees like B.S. dhaliwal, sant prakash singh, kps gill, sutlej etc.. It has firing range for hand gun shooting drill, a football field, a parade ground, a Physical training ground, a beemon wale ground(indians will get it ;-)....), an indoor shooting practice range, fire arms training simulation chamber, G A rundle library, weapon tactical training area for teaching war tactics, nursery drill training hall, a model police station, a model court of justice, information technology Laboratory, forensic science Laboratory, fingerprints science lab(which is the first one in the world), wet canteen for trainees, motor vehicle training, traffic signal training area, a huge conference hall, two swimming pools(one small scale and another large scale one which is worth 1 crore indian rupees), a riding school for teaching horse riding skills, a kot and armoury, a museum, a Gazzeted Officer's hostel and mess, a hospital for trainees etc.. It even has a golf club, a school for children. I have uploaded some pictures you can go through under my name tag, you can discover this place as you wish. Hope you enjoy the visit(...

Phillaur Fort or Maharaja Ranjit Singh Fort is located on the Grand Trunk Road in Phillaur, Punjab, India.13]

During the reign of Shah Jahan (1628-1658) an Imperial sarai was constructed here and in 1809 it was rebuilt as a fort under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780–1839). It was designed by Dewan Mohkam Chand, with the assistance of Ranjit Singh's French and Italian generals. It was constructed as a response to the British, who built a fort in nearby Ludhiana. In 1846 the British took control of the fort following the defeat of the Sikhs at the Battle of Aliwal. The fort remained under the control of the army until 1890 when it was transferred to the civil authorities, who used it as a police training centre. On 6 April 1973 it was renamed as 'Maharaja Ranjit Singh Fort' by the Punjab Government. Since 1981 it has been used as the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy.[1

It also home to Pir Baba Abdullah Shah Ji's Shrine (also known as Pir-i-Dastgir or Abdul Kadir Galani) and as such local Muslims consider it a holy place. The fort also contains several tombs of Muslim icons and members of Shah Shuja's family.[5]

ArchitectureEdit

The fort's architecture has a distinct European character, with channels dug out along the boundary of the fort, watchtowers on the two gateways, four bastions on four nooks high walls around...