Phillaur Fort, also known as, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Fort is located on the Grand Trunk Road in Phillaur, Punjab state. During the reign of Shah Jahan, an imperial sarai was constructed there, which was rebuilt as a fort in 1809 under the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Phillaur Fort was designed by Dewan Mohkam Chand along with the assistance of French and Italian generals of Ranjit Singh. This fort was built as a response to the British as they built a fort near to 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 British army until 1890. At that time, it was transferred to the civil authorities, who used it as a police training centre. The fort was named as `Maharaja Ranjit Singh Fort` on 6th April 1973 by the Government of Punjab. Since 1981 it has been used as the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy. Phillaur Fort also houses Pir Baba Abdullah Shah Ji`s Shrine. Apart from that, the fort also houses several tombs of Muslim icons and members of Shah Shuja`s family. The fort was built on European features along with boundary of the fort, watchtowers on the two gateways, four bastions on four nooks with high walls around the fort etc.
This article is a stub. You can enrich by adding more information to it. Send your Write Up to content@indianetzone.com.
