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Syeda
Mahrukh Fatima
2K12/MC/110
Feature
Kot Diji
Fort
A building
itself a majestic history
Kot Diji
Fort is one of the precious heritages of Sind proving the words quoted by Gehry
Frank, “In the end, the character of a civilization is encased in its
structures”. The Kot Diji Fort, formally known as Abbottabad Fort, was a
citadel on high grounds built for the elites. It holds ascendary over the town
of Kot Diji in district Khairpur of Sind province, Pakistan. It is located
about 25 miles east of the Indus River sitting at the Nara Rajasthan Desert’s
verge. The fort was built by Mir Sohrab Khan Talpur, founder of the Upper
Kingdom of Sind during 1785 to 1795.
Kot Diji
Fort was built very logically. Bricks were used due to the brittle quality
limestone available locally which could easily shatter with a strike of cannon
ball. In addition to the fort, a 5 km, 12 feet wide mud wall was built around
the city. The Fort’s length ranges to half a kilometer. It has three 5 feet
tall towers placed strategically. Its
walls are segmented by about 50 bastions at regular intervals. Amazingly, the
walls and bastions hold arrow slits in them that allowed defenders to attack
their enemy from two levels; from battlement of top and from within the walls.
The Fort is divided by three
elephant-proof huge iron gates on the only entrance in the east into three
overlapping levels. These levels were constructed due to the reason that if the
lower level would be over-run by enemy, the first two levels could be easily
attacked from upper level.The iron gates have several pointed iron nails on
them to prevent different methods of breaking it such as elephant attacks.This
fort has beautifully decorated mural ceramic walls and is a marvel of
workmanship and archaeology. The fort has a place of capital punishment and
barracks for the prisoners. Situated at a far corner is the “Takht Gah”, which
is also a main part of the fort and was used for the meetings of ruler and his
cabinet.
Kot Diji Fort could be
kept as private heritage of Mirs of Khairpur as ex-sovereign rulers still
possess their forts. But Mir Murad Ali II gave its hold to the Government of
Pakistan anticipating its better maintenance. The fall of Talpur dynasty
relates to the words of Confucius, “The strength of a nation is derived from
the integrity of its homes”. It is in a
manner that Kot Diji Fort is presently in derelict condition and alarmingly
requires renovation.Way from Kot Diji Fort's entrance to the top has collapsed
that is a cause of difficulty for tourists to visit. Stairs on left side of
fort are prone to deterioration. Government renovated the stairs few years ago
but the work was left unfinished. Many important locations of fort have lost
their mark due to government's failure to care for it. The place has a hopeless
air of neglect.
Many decorative fixtures and fittings
were stolen. 192 cannons, including those built for Nadir Shah, the Qajar
Emperors, the Kalhoras, the Mughals and Safavid Dynasties along with antique
European cannons collected in fort were stolen or destroyed by being thrown
from bastions during the government of Ayub Khan.
It is a remarkable
tourist site where people, not only from within Pakistan but also from foreign,
visit. The government of Pakistan has to pay serious attention to its
maintenance. Little wariness of government for it can prove it a great centre
of tourism. Its importance can be observed in the words, “We shape our
buildings, thereafter, our buildings shape us”.
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