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Dhanidhar Fort

heritage site · Jammu & Kashmir

State
Jammu & Kashmir
Type
Heritage Site

Dhanidhar Fort overlooks the Rajouri valley, built using materials salvaged from buildings destroyed in earlier conflicts, offering a vantage point over the whole Valley of Rajouri.

Dhanidhar Fort is known for

Dogra administrative fort (1855)built from salvaged conflict materialsgrain revenue storagevantage over Rajouri valley

A short history

Following the 1846 British sale of Jammu and Kashmir to Maharaja Gulab Singh, the previous Raja of Rajouri, Raheem Ullah Khan, refused to step down and was dismissed on 26 October 1846. Mian Hathu, appointed Governor of Rajouri (1846-1856), initiated construction of the fort, which was completed in 1855 AD. Militarily it allowed Dogra forces to maintain oversight of the valley; economically it served as a grain storage facility, where revenue collected from farmers was stored and later sold. [Source: rajouri.nic.in/tourist-place/dhanidharfort]

Why Dhanidhar Fort matters

Dhanidhar Fort is a significant example of mid-19th century Dogra administrative and military architecture, illustrating how the new Dogra state consolidated control over Rajouri after 1846.

When to go

October to March

How to reach

Located about 160 km from Jammu, in Rajouri town.

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