Sangni Fort I Silent Chronicle of Mughal & Sikh Eras I Saint is the Only Resident of Fortress

Описание: #fortsofpakistan #pothohar #mughals
Sangni Fort I Silent Chronicle of Mughal & Sikh Eras I Saint is the Only Resident of Fortress

Videography: Waqas Gul
@Explore Pakistan
Music: Binu Kumar, Kerala India [Sound SFX]

Pothohar is home to several forts and fortresses which are located at strategic locations, mostly overlooking rivers, rivulets and hill streams. Of these, the most prominent include the Rohtas Fort, Pharwala Fort, Rawat Fort, Attock Fort, Giri Fort, Sangni fortress, etc.

Sangni fortress or Sangni Killa which is located about 25 km north of Gujar Khan town, is the most impressive and famous in the entire Gujar Khan Tehsil in Rawalpindi district. It is easily approachable from Kallar Syedan town than Gujar Khan. It is located about 11 km east of Kallar Syedan town and 3 km east of Chakrali Budhal village in Gujar Khan tehsil.

Who built this fortress? This is a question that everyone wants to know when one visits the fortress. Some believe that the Sangni fortress was built during Sikh rule in Punjab. Others believe that it was first built during the Mughal period and rebuilt by the Sikhs in the nineteenth century.

Sangni fortress was used for keeping prisoners during the Mughal period and later it was rebuilt by the Sikhs. It continued to serve as an important fortress of the Sikhs in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. The fortress was built between 1823 and 1825 on the confluence of two hill streams or rivulets, hence the word Sangni was derived from the word Sangam meaning the confluence of two rivulets which came to be known as Sangni over a period of time.

Sangni fortress is built over a hill from where one has a panoramic view of several villages, particularly Sui Cheemian, Dhok Las, etc. The Dhole Las village is noted as an 18th-century necropolis. These graves are constructed of Kanjur stone and possibly belong to some of the soldiers of the Mughal period who were stationed at the fortress. Similar graves can also be seen in the Takkal village with a dilapidated funerary enclosure, which possibly belongs to a Mughal administrator of Sangni and neighboring villages.

The main entrance gate of the fortress opens to the east from where one can see as far as the Takkal village, steps lead to the inside of the fortress.

The fortress has four bastions of almost equal diameter with stairways reaching the top of the bastions which were used for guarding the fortress and its surrounding area.

Located inside the fortress is the shrine of Sahibzada Abdul Hakeem alias Cheeray Wali Sarkar whose ancestors are believed to have come from Arabia via Iran to preach in Chakrali Budhal in Gujar Khan tehsil. He was a deputy of Haji Murid Khan (1785-6) alias Baga Sher whose shrine is located at Darkali Sharif in Kallar Syedan tehsil in Rawalpindi district. Haji Murid Khan was from a Gakhar tribe and was a deputy of Pira Shah Ghazi Qalandar Damri Wali Sarkar whose shrine is located at Khari Sharif in Mirpur district in Azad Kashmir.

It is believed that Sahibzada Abdul Hakeem first meditated at Sangni fortress, which was then simply made of unbaked bricks. At that time, this area was under Sikh rule. The local administrator and ruler Gulab Singh decided to rebuild the fortress. It is believed that they sought permission from Sahibzada Abdul Hakeem to rebuild the fortress! Sahibzada Abdul Hakeem allowed them to rebuild the fortress and told them that it belonged to him and he would visit and mediate whenever he wished to do. The construction of the fortress began. He left the fortress for Chakrali Budhal as he got disturbed due to construction activity which hampered his mediation and prayers. He made Chakrali his permanent seat of preaching, from where his name spread to villages all over the Pothohar region until he died in Chakrali and was buried there.

The shrine of Shaibzada Abdul Hakeem attracts hundreds of people every Thursday and Friday. Newly married couples invariably visit the shrine to get the blessings of the saint. People also slaughter animals at the shrine in the hope of getting their wishes fulfilled and as a form of thanksgiving to the saint.

The devotees also take a bath in the spring which is situated west of the fort and is believed to have been a miracle of the saint. Local people believe that there was no spring in Sangni until the water came out from the earth where Sahibzada Abdul Hakeem was buried at the Sangni fortress. The spring never dries. Of the people taking a bath in it, some have illnesses that they hope the water will rid them of; water therapy is still a common practice at various shrines across the Pothohar region in Punjab.

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