Top 10 Interesting Facts about Sangni Fort

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Sangni Fort

Sangni Fort in Rawalpindi District, Punjab, Pakistan Picture By Khalid Mahmood Wikimedia

Sangni Fort is also known as Sangani Killa. This is a fort of the Sikh period near the village of Takal in Kallar Syedan Tehsil, Rawalpindi District in Pakistan.

This fort was built to control the area and facilitate tax collection. The British made this area part of Bewal.

Gradually the fort lost its importance and became obscure. The keepers of a nearby obscure shrine moved the shrine to this fort.

The fort is in good condition with intact walls but the inside is altered and decorated due to the presence of the shrine of Sahibzada Abdul Hakeem.

Let’s look at some of the interesting facts about Sangni Fort;

1. The Fort was used to hold prisoners

Sangni Fort in Rawalpindi District, Punjab, Pakistan where prisoners were held. By Serdol Wikimedia

The fort served little defensive purposes and was used to hold the prisoners and keep watch of the borders of the empire.

Although some believe that Mughal-era structure stood on the premises many largely attribute the story of Sangni fort to the Sikhs, and Dogras of Kashmir. Sikh forces began to take over Punjab in the early 19th Century and they captured the Kallar Syeda land where the fort stands.

The villagers say that the current version of the fort was built to keep out the poor Muslims (artisans and farmers who lived on the outskirts of affluent Hindu and Sikh property).

Sikh commander Gulab Singh Dogra kept the Fort and surrounding area when he took over Kashmir in 1847, after the first Anglo-Sikh war.

2. The Fort is perched on top of a hill

Sangni Fort in Rawalpindi District, Punjab, Pakistan on hilly land.By Khalid Mahmood –WIKIMEDIA

The Fort is located on top of a hill, with a Panoramic view of scenic villages particularly the Sui Cheemian and Dhok Las.

Many of these villages have large networks of graves that most likely belonged to the soldiers in charge of the area over the years. Similar graves can also be seen in Takkal village with a dilapidated funerary enclosure which possibly belongs to a Mughal administrator of Sangni and neighboring villages.

Sangni Fort itself is quite small and tranquil, with four bastions on all sides and stairways that led up to them, which were used for guarding the fort and its surroundings.

3. The Fort was abandoned when the British took over Punjab

The Fort was abandoned when the British took over Punjab in 1849, in favor of establishing garrison towns.

However, the space has since been repurposed for spiritual practices. The Sufi Saint Hazrat Abdul Hakim was allegedly an Arab who came to the Subcontinent via Iran and settled in the area at the time of Dogra rule.

Although he was not allowed into the fort to preach to the soldiers, he settled in the nearby village, where he gathered a significant following among the villagers.

4. Entering the shrine in the Fort is a peaceful experience

Entering the shrine is a peaceful experience. The site is well-maintained, and the shrine is built in typical Pothwari architecture, with a round dome atop a square structure.

The shrine is covered in dazzling and colorful glazed tiles and glassware, which is a defining feature of shrines in the Pothohar.

On the west of the building is a miracle spring that was said to have emerged after the saint was buried on the site. People still bathe in the spring water to rid themselves of ailments, as water therapy is also very common in this region.

5. The fort is maintained by Devotees of Abdul Hakeem

Abdul Hakeem. Picture By Aziz Kingrani wikimedia

Since the fortress is now part of the shrine complex, it has been maintained by the devotees of Abdul Hakeem.

However, recent plans on the part of the government to promote tourism across the country incorporated Sangni Fort within a proposed heritage trail across the plateau.

This will give tourists a good opportunity to understand Sangni Fort’s place within the other Forts of the area. Until that happens, those who are interested in the region’s unique history can still visit the shrine and fort complex, which in itself offers a unique facet of Sikh and Kashmiri history within the Potohar Plateau.

6. A fabulous specimen of Pothohar architecture in the Fort

A fabulous specimen of Pothohar architecture, the tomb is said to have been built by his devotees and descendants over his grave.

It has three arched entrances from all directions. The tomb is constructed of burnt bricks and adorned with ceramics. The hemispherical dome rests on the square building, the corners of which are decorated with four minarets.

The drum on which the dome rests is adorned with glazed tiles. Close to the shrine is situated a mosque, which was also built by disciples of Sahibzada Abdul Hakeem.

7. Sangni Fort attracts tourists

The shrine of Shaibzada Abdul Hakeem in the Fort 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.

8. Devotees take a bath in a spring in the Fort

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.

9. Glasswork is well revealed by shrines in the Fort

The walls of the corridor of the tombs and shrines are decorated with modern ceramics. The interior of the tomb is decorated with glasswork. The glazed tiles and glasswork are essential elements of the modern tomb architecture in Pothohar. Almost in every village and town where there are shrines, one is bound to find these two forms of decoration on them.

10. Sangni fort is the most famous in Rawalpindi 

Sangni fortress or Sangni Killa which is located about 29 km north of Gujar Khan town, is the most impressive and famous in the entire Gujar Khan Tehsil in Rawalpindi district.

It is more 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.