Ramkot Fort: The crumbling giant of Azad Kashmir
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Muslim rulers of Kashmir built numerous forts, one of which is the Ramkot Fort, now surrounded by the water of the Mangla Lake.
The fort is located on the confluence of Rivers Jhelum and Poonch, on a vertical cliff looking over the shiny blue waters. Due to its peculiar architecture, the Ramkot Fort is distinct amongst fortresses built in the Kashmir region. Identical to the architectural characteristics of the Mangla and Muzaffarabad Forts, Ramkot was very likely built in the same period.
To approach the fort, you have to take a boat from the water sports club at the Mangla Dam, which, after an almost 10-minute ride, would reach the northern extremity of the reservoir. Here, you will find a gigantic fort structure located on the summit of the hill.
A short but steep climb uphill takes you to the fort. This tricky location must have been a strategic plus point for this fort in the past, but these days, it has become the reason for its isolation and wilderness; unlike other spots at the Mangla Lake, few tourists choose to head over this way, quite possibly due to its distance and tough terrain.
Even the governments, neither the Azad Jammu Kashmir government or the federal government (which operates the Mangla Dam) seem to be taking any interest in the restoration and development of this heritage.
Although most of the fort lies in ruins, signs pointing to its past life and grandeur are still alive.
For example, the gateway, which is strategically designed with firing sits on every angle. It is the only entry/exit point into the fortified area. Ramps run from the ground floor to the parapet, which were obviously used to bring artillery in position.
About the water tanks, historians are not sure why such a relatively small fortress used such large tanks.
The fort had lain neglected till the late '90s, when Dr Anis ur Rehman, head of the Islamabad-based NGO Himalayan Wildlife Foundation, first came across Ramkot on a fishing trip to Mangla. Dr Anis ur Rehman told me that the day he first entered this fort, it was entirely ruined and inaccessible, and piles of mud and thick vegetation had taken over every inch of the fort.
Dr Rehman contacted the Federal Ministry of Archaeology and was surprised to find that the ministry had no record of this fort. He succeeded in obtaining official permission to voluntarily work on its restoration.
In this mission, Professor Abdul Rehman of the Archaeology Department of Peshawar University and architects Sohail Akbar Khan and Raja Khalid joined the efforts and after one year of continuous work, they brought up an impressive fort out of the ruins.
A roof and door were installed at the main entrance, water tanks were cleared of soil, wild vegetation which had bred a host of snakes, was cleared, and old canons were arranged in place on the artillery crenellations.
Dr Anis ur Rehman said that he contacted the army, which provided two old model canons brought in specially from Quetta for the Ramkot Fort.
Like many other heritage sites, Ramkot has its own share of myths surrounding its establishment. It is said that the fort was built over the site of an old Hindu Shiva temple, but looking at the present structure of the fort, no one can doubt that its is a construction of the 16th century.
According to archaeologist Dr Saif ur Rehman Dar, this fort, being similar to the Muzaffarabad Fort, was very likely built in the second half of 16th century, whereas the ramps, the crenellations for cannons and narrow loopholes for musketry are alterations of the time when Dogra Maharaja of Kashmir held this fort in the 19th century.
Like other fortresses in Azad Kashmir (such as Mangla, Muzaffarabad, Barjhan and Throtchi), the Ramkot Fort could not make much of a place in historical records. The 1841 Arrow Smith map of Kashmir makes no mention of it. But according to eminent travel writer, Salman Rashid, Frederic Drew, the appointed geologist to the Maharaja of Kashmir, casts some light on Ramkot in his work The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories: A Geographical Account, published in 1875. It was built, he records, by a Gakkhar named Toglu. After the Gakkhars, the fort was ceded to the Dogras.
In the last decade, the Ramkot Fort has been fast-forwarded on the path of its destruction. The restoration work which Dr Anis ur Rehman had done has lost a lot of its impact due to the lack of day-to-day supervision and maintenance. The earthquake of October 2005 also seriously damaged the fort, and the dire neglect on the part of the AJK authorities is not helping either.
Dr Rehman told me that few years ago, a UK-based Kashmiri expatriate had shown interest in developing this fort as tourist spot, but he has been unable to execute the project in all this time.
Once fully restored and provided with necessary facilities, the Ramkot Fort is sure to attract many visitors and generate handsome revenues for the AJK government. It would also add to the history, heritage and culture of the land and the people of Kashmir.
However, if the example of Fort Barjhan is to be taken into account, there is not much reason to hope for preservation.
The AJK Prime Minister C. H. Abdulmajid could not safeguard the Fort of Barjhan which was located at some distance from Ramkot. According to media reports, relatives and voters of the prime minister demolished this fort and sold out its brick stones. The government took no action of any kind against the culprits; rather, the centuries old stone bricks of the fort were used in the houses of senior minister and even the prime minister of Azad Jammu Kashmir.
Aown Ali is a Lahore based photojournalist, particularly interested in documenting architecture worth historic significant.