5/5 ABUBAKKAR S. 2 years ago on Google
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
βPhulnagarβ.
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
his
legend...
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