Written by: Sadaf Shahzad
Posted on: September 18, 2020 | 
| 中文
Bala Hissar Fort from Outside
The first thing one sees when entering the historic city of Peshawar, are the large, imposing walls of the Bala Hissar Fort. The fort, one of the oldest recognized monuments in Peshawar, has been a symbol of power and conquest throughout the ages. It has witnessed many changes, but remains an important landmark, closely tied to the identity and evolution of Peshawar.
The true origins of the fort are not known to historians. The initial assumption was that Bala Hissar Fort was Mughal, as only Mughal accounts have references to the fort. Emperor Babur referred to it as Bagram (the old name of Peshawar), in accounts which date back to about 1523 CE. However, archaeologist Ahmed Hasan Dani discovered records from a Chinese Monk named Hieun Tsang, who lived around 630 AD and described the existence of a fortified royal residence, where Bala Hissar is currently located.
The Entrance to the Fort
This record, along with the Fort’s specific location on the G.T. Road – as opposed to inside the Walled City of Peshawar – which directly connects it to cities in India, suggests that the mound on which Bala Hissar was made, is much older than previously imagined.
Over the years, Bala Hissar Fort has been subjected to numerous wars, conquests and reconstructions. This was because the city of Peshawar has always remained a strategically important location for conquerors as a gateway between India and Central Asia. It is believed to have been a site of great strife before Muhammad Ghauri captured Peshawar in 1179 AD. In the era of Mughal King Humayun (1530-1556), Afghan King Sher Shah Suri destroyed the Fort during a battle, and Humayun rebuilt it before crossing into Kabul.
After the Mughals, the Fort came under the control of the Afghan Durrani empire for the latter half of the 16th and early 17th Century. The term ‘Bala Hissar’ (which in Dari Persian means ‘elevated fort’) was given to the fort by Taimur Shah Durrani when it served as his winter palace. After the Battle of Nowshera in 1823, the Sikhs took over the Fort, reconstructing it with unburnt bricks, under orders of Sikh general Hari Singh Nalwa.
(L to R) Taimur Shah Durrani and Hari Singh Nalwa
Despite the Sikh rulers changing its name to “Samer Garh” (after a sacred mountain in Tibet), the fort was still referred to as ‘Bala Hissar’. But while no part of the fort from the Durrani Era remains, there is still a plaque on the Fort walls from the Sikh era which reads, “Victory to Porak. This was built by Raja Bikramajit and was named Samir or Samar Garh.”
Bala Hissar Fort in 1907
Following the Anglo-Sikh Wars of 1845-1846, the British took over Punjab in 1849, also gaining control of the Peshawar Valley, and by extension, the Fort. In 1902, they started large scale renovations of the weak, mud-brick walls, emulating the original Mughal architecture. Until the city cantonment was fully formed, troops were stationed at Bala Hissar, quelling tribal rebellions like the one initiated by the Afridi tribesmen in 1930. Almost all of the Fort’s present structure is from the British colonial era.
Since 1948, the Fort has served as the headquarters for the Frontier Corps (FC) and paramilitary forces. However, the fort is open to the public on the weekends, allowing visitors to walk the grounds, explore the unaltered dungeons, and stand on the top of the Fort for a panoramic view of Peshawar. Additionally, there is a fascinating museum about the history of the Frontier Corps inside, which houses documents and artifacts from the colonial era. A small section of the museum is dedicated to the cultural history of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), with clothes, weapons and utensils used by tribes in KPK, Kohistan and Chitral.
The View from the Top of the Fort
As early as the 90’s, there have been frequent discussions between the FC and the provincial government to preserve Bala Hissar as a heritage site, and open it to the public permanently. This discussion was reopened by the KPK government in 2014, with ideas for a state-of-the-art museum that celebrates the Fort’s history. Alongside this, Pashtun politicians and prominent members of the Sikh community have asked for pictures of Ahmad Shah Durrani and Maharaja Ranjit Singh respectively, to decorate the Fort walls in honor of the contributions of these leaders to Bala Hissar and the city of Peshawar.
As of 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that the Fort would be converted to a fully functioning museum, while the FC would be provided an alternative place. Its design and structure would be akin to the Army Museum in Lahore and the PAF Museum in Karachi, with interactive exhibits that would honor paramilitary soldiers, like those martyred during the War on Terror. Currently, this plan is still underway, but the Fort is closed to the public, due to the current lockdown situation, following the outbreak of COVID-19.
Inside the Museum
Bala Hissar is now officially recognized as an important historical landmark, vital to understanding the heritage of Peshawar as an ancient and evolving city. Unfortunately, much of the historical evidence which could point to the origins of the Fort, has been lost over time and due to constant reconstruction. But perhaps those in charge of developing the new museum in Bala Hissar could take into consideration devoting exhibition space to the different exhibits, from the Mughals to the Pashtun Durranis, Sikhs and the British, who shaped the Fort’s identity as a symbol of power.
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