Dhanidhar Fort

The fort that was constructed in the year 1855 in the rule of Mian Hathu was named as Dhanidhar Fort and is located in Rajouri. The fort has been constructed utilizing the remains of the Jaral Rajas buildings. The fort has been earlier ruled by the Hindus who ruled in the Pal dynasty and later by the Muslims who conquered this region. The fort was housed by the Dogra forces to safeguard the place as the entire place was visible from the top of fort. The purposes of building this dam were served since the height of the fort was too high.

History

It was in the year 1819 that Raja Ranjit Singh conquered Rajouri and Mirza Raheem Ullah Khan was chosen to rule Rajouri though it was expected to be ruled by Raja Agar Khan. Rajouri was ruled by Mirza Raheem Ullah Khan till the year 1846 who was controlled by the Khalsa Darbar of Lahore. The Britishers on 15th March in year 1846 sold Jaamu and Kashmir and Ladakh to Raja Gulab Singh who belonged to Jammu and Kashmir. This further led to the decision that Maharaja Gulab Singh controlled the region of Rajouri. Raja Raheem Ullah Khan who earlier ruled Rajouri did not share healthy bond with the Maharaja thus this he was asked to drop the rule of Rajouri to come to end but he refused to follow these orders. Later on 26th October 1846 Raja Raheem Ullah Khan was defeated by Maharaja Gulab Singh and thus the rule of Raja Raheem Ullah Khan came to end in Rajouri. Mian Hathu was appointed to rule Rajouri by Maharaja Gulab Singh after he conquered Rajouri from Raja Raheem Ullah Khan. From the year 1846 to 1856 AD Mian Hathu ruled over Rajouri. During these years the work to construct Dhannidhar Fort was carried out. The construction material used for building Dhannidhar Fort was collected from the building of Jaral Rajas that were demolished during the war carried by Maharaja Ranjit Singh while he wanted to invade Kashmir. The construction of the building was finished in the year 1855 AD. The fort was built the o protect Rajouri from the Dogra Forces and the fort was so high that the entire Rajouri area was visible from above the Fort. During the rule the Raja collected grains from the farmers in form of revenue that was also stored in the Fort for later consumption or for selling. So the two major purpose served by the fort was protection from Dogra forces and for storing the collected grains. This monument that belongs to the history of the nation served the purpose of protection that stood high on the hill in the region of Rajouri. The history of the fort goes that it was built by the Mughal King who ruled the region under the jurisdiction of Emperor Jahangir that goes back to almost 400 years. Hence the history of the fort goes back to almost a total of 400 years. The fort is located a distance of 2 kms from the reign of Rajouri thus providing it a majestic and magnificent view.

Celebrations

The year 2000 was marked as the year to be devoted to soldiers who laid down their life’s to serve and protect the nation. This was done by observing a silence of two minutes in the honor of these soldiers. The ceremony was organized by GOC the Romeo force.