Written by: Sadaf Shahzad
Posted on: June 24, 2021 | 
Shabqadar Fort Exterior
In the little town of Charsadda, about an hour’s drive from Peshawar, amongst lush greenery and a rusty old bridge overlooking the gushing River Kabul, there exists a carefully preserved military Fort of Sikh and British heritage, the Shabqadar Fort, which is now accessible to the public thanks to good conservation efforts. It is one of the many forts built in strategic locations across the province of Khyber Pakthunkhwa (KP) to safeguard this region. But for the locals, it is seen as a symbol of the many historical changes and personalities that have come through and left their mark on KP.
No one knows the origins of the town (initially called Dheri) which existed before the Fort. According to oral history many Pashtun tribes from Afghanistan settled in the area after fleeing from persecution since Mahmud of Ghazni entered the Indian Subcontinent. The area was of particular interest to the Mughals because of its proximity to both Peshawar and Kabul, but it was the Sikhs who established trade and business there, with the condition that all businesses would be the monopoly of Sikhs.
Shabqadar Fort Being Attacked, 1897
Dheri’s name was changed to Sikho Dheri, and the foundation of the Fort was laid by Ranjit Singh in 1835. The Fort was built by architect Tota Ram, who named the Fort ‘Shankar Gah’ in honor of his first-born son. The name was changed to Shabqadar in 1876, perhaps to appease the local Muslim population and to secure their loyalty against the tribal leaders rebelling against the Sikh rule.
The Sikh Empire ceased to be formidable after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839, although its boundaries still stretched from Amritsar to Peshawar because of the strong and professional Sikh army. European generals like Jean-Baptist Ventura and Paolo Avitabile (known colloquially as Abu Tabela) fought major battles in Europe like Napoleon’s Battle of Waterloo (1815), and were accepted into Ranjit Singh’s court as Generals and Qazi. They not only trained the army in modern tactics of warfare but were also responsible for controlling tribal factions and communities vying for power in the area around the Fort.
The Old Sikh Tower in the Middle of the Fort
The story goes that one night in 1840, the Mohmand tribesmen attacked the fort, and fought a hard battle well into the night. Eventually, the illustrious son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Prince Sher Shah Singh, managed to push out the intruders. Infuriated, he demanded a probe to ascertain how the tribesmen entered the fort. General Ventura joined the jury, and carried out an investigation for two days. He concluded that the wooden gates of the fort (the tallest of which was about 12 ft. tall), were the cause of the infiltration. The doors were sentenced to chained imprisonment for one hundred years.
When the British arrived in KP, they took over the Fort compound from the Sikhs. Currently, the Fort is under the control of the Frontier Constabulary (FC), who have maintained the Fort in a relatively good condition, with certain parts open to the public. Stepping into the Fort was like stepping into another time, with the carefully kept British-era buildings and colonial aesthetics mixed with Sikh architecture. The Fort has been used in different epochs of our history, from Ranjit Singh who built it, right up to the British annexation of Punjab in 1849.
In the middle of the compound stands the old watchtower, with the condemned willow tree gates. The towers also have commemorative plates with names of colonial soldiers who died largely from cholera and sunstroke. One of the first rooms we walked into, close to the tower, was called ‘Churchill Hut’. It was marked by a plaque on the door, which said: "Winston Churchill as a young subaltern stayed here for a while on a probing mission about Mullah Hudda who was leading an uprising in 1897". There was a quaint wooden bed in the room, and a huge, cloth-made fan that hung from the ceiling. Photos and artifacts of young Churchill’s time here are also placed on the wall.
Winston Churchill's Room at the Fort
Another room open to the public is a small museum with an impressive collection of military memorabilia from both the Sikh and the British eras. There is a long stand with big reflecting mirrors, once placed on the top of the Fort by the British to communicate with the Balahissar Fort in Peshawar using light reflections. Vintage guns and muskets that have been artistically carved, are held alongside Sikh swords. And on the walls are pictures of dignitaries visiting the fort, like Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Ayub Khan and Khwaja Nazimuddin.
The Fort Museum
Shabqadar Fort holds a fascinating collection of stories and events from the Sikh, and British eras. It has been a strategically important location for the protection of Peshawar, and to mark the frontier between the Indian Subcontinent and Afghanistan. But despite the changing times, governments and rulers, the wooden gates remain still tied down to the old tower in black chains. Although the gates’ punishment legally ended in 1940, no one has since unchained them. Bhutto once attempted to free them, but decided to let them stay chained to humorously make an example and prevent anyone from faltering in their assigned duties.
The Chained Doors
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