Friends in this lesson i am giving you information about the sindhuli fort of nepal.Sindhuli fort is located about 150 kilometers east of kathmandu. This fort is 20 kilometrs away from sindhuli madi the district headquarters of sindhuli on the BP highway from sindhuli madi to khurkot.Sindhuli fort which was once inaccessible has now become accessible due to the start of transportation.Looking at its current condition it will be very enjoyable to visit this sindhuli fort.This fort was built in ancient times to protect its state from enemies.Hidtoricsl materials taken from the defeated enemies in the war have been kept in a war museum there.Sindhuli fort in sindhuli district is an important fortress in eastern nepal.It is also an old road connecting bardibas, the mahabharat hills and the kathmandu valleys.This fort is also a strategic and social point built in the hilly region.Sindhuli fort is also the fort where the british soldiers who were on the path of world conquest were defeated for the first time in asia.In the battle of sindhuli fort in 1768 the then british or indian army was defeated by the gorkhali army. Sindhuli fort is also the main point, the axis of prestige and the main place of valor for the nepali army.The gorkha king of that time prithvi narayan shah surrounded the kathmandu valley from all sides in his campaign to unity nepal.Gorkha soldiers were stationed everywhere for the war.After prithvi narsyan shah’s army had attacked the surrounding kingdoms he was afraid that they would also attack kantipur. Therefore he sought foreign help to strengthen his kingdom.In order to protect his kingdom from external attacks and to obtain external help the then king of kantipur jaya prakash mall wrote a letter to the british army in india.The east india company planned to trade pine bark with the chaudandi kingdom and expand trade relations with tibet and china country.It then dreamed of making a profit by protecting the kantipur kingdom from the intervention of the gorkhali army. Dreaming of profiting in this way the east india company sent 2400 troops under the leadership of captain kinloch to assist king jaya prakash malla.According to the same plan the british troops left india to fight prithvi narayan shah’s army.The british army led by kinloch who was supposed to fight the gorkhali army came up with a plan to enter kathmandu through sindhuli fort in august 1767.Not only this the british army came with cannons,guns, gunpowder and other weapons.The british troops led by kinloch had come not only to help king jaya prakash malla but also to capture the whole of nepal country.
When prithvi narayan shah came to know that the british troops active in india were coming to nepal.After that prithvi narayan shah had deployed troops under the leadership of cashier birbhadra upadhyay and captain banshu gurung.Accordingly he stationed the gorkha army in that fort to conduct guerrilla warefare to prevent the british army from entering kathmandu.When thebritish army entered nepal by planning to enter kathmandu through sindhuli fort they entered nepal through the route of the same fort.The british army entered nepal from kolkata via bihar,patana,darbhanga and dhanusha.After entering nepal they were heading towards kathmandu from janakpur via bardibas ,sindhuli madi and sindhuli fort.They coming with provisions and weapons.Since it was a mountainous route it was not easy for the army carrying large cannons,guns and other war materials to reach kathmandu.The british army was exhausted due to the new geography of nepal and the rainy seasons.After the british reached the sindhuli fort the nepal army equipped only with home-made weapons such as bows,swords, khukuri and axe began to show their fighting skills.The nepali army pelted stones at the british army approaching sirwani from the chiyabari of sindhuli at dhungre bhanjyang.The british army which had entered from the other side and was approaching from the dhanmana stream was attacked by the nepali army at pauwa fort.The british army fled from there after the gorkhali army pelted large stones from the top of the hill.While fleeing from there many british soldiers fled through nettle and allo bushes.Some british soldiers died after being burned by the nettle and allo bushes. In the same process the nepal soldiers hit the nest of the hornets with stones.The stones hit the hornet’s nest and the hornet came out the nest and bit the british soldiers and some british soldiers died on the spot after being bitten by the hornets and while some fled.The nepali army had hidden in sola bhanjyang to attack and had set a trap so that the british army could not advance.The gorkha or nepali army defeated the british army by throwing stones at the nests of bee,wasps,hornets etc.A fierce battle took place between the two armies. Thus after being defeated in the war there due to the guerrilla attacks of the nepalese the remaining british troops who survive the war returned to india on 15 ashwin 1824 bikram sambat.After defeating the british army the gorkhali army celebrated the victory festival at sindhuli fort on kartik 24 bikram samvat 1824.Thus the british army defeated in the battle of sindhuli fort returned to india in november 1767.After failling to win the battle the british army abandoned their weapons and fled and the nepali army can be seen keeping those weapons safe.The victory in the battle of sindhuli fort further increased the confidence of the nepali army.The plan of the british army to enter kathmandu to support king jaya prakash mall failed. The victory in this battle further strengthened the unification campaign of prithvi narayan shah. The bravery of the gorkhali army had resisted the 2400 army that came to fight under the leadership of the very strong kinloch.Resisting such a large army more than 2400 senior british soldiers were killed in that battle. With their skilled troops killed the remaining british troops fled the sindhuli fort area by jumping off cliffs to save their lives.
During the unification of nepal history records that the gorkhali army defeated the british army at sindhuli fort in sindhuli district, makawampur fort in makawanpur district, samanpur fort in rautahat district and jitpur fort in rupandehi district.There were badly dealt with in the battle of sindhuli fort.After that captain kinloch who led the british army accepted defeated in the battle.Now having decided that the british could not cross kathmandu from sindhuli fort they fled from there.As another option captain kinloch decided to go to kathmandu via the hariharpur fort route to reach kathmandu.Facing many difficulties due to the mountainous route kinloch reached hariharpur fort with his supporting army.Prithvi narayan shah had also deployed gorkhali forces at hariharpur fort.After the british troops reached there the plan to reach kathmandu via hariharpur fort also failed due to major reasons such as hunger, thirst,disillusionment in the army and suicide.The british troops who reached hariharpur fort were also driven away from there by the gorkhali army.The british troops who fled from hariharpur fort stayed in a place called paurai in the same district through the nunther area of rautahat district for three years.In this way we can never forget the history of sindhuli fort because this battle has kept nepal alive till today. If we had lost the battle of sindhuli fort we would not have had a place to identify ourselves as nepalis today.An arms museum has been built in sindhuli fort to kept alive the historical fact that the gorkhali army defeated the british army.Due to the military power of king prithvi narayan shah the courage and love of patriotisim of the gorkhas became even higher and stronger.This historical sindhuli fort can be called a link in history.The weapons museum established by the nepali army can be seen in this fort area. In that building 9 rooms have been built on one floor and weapons are kept displayed.Military uniforms,weapons, other military equipments used in the war and other historical items and materials used in that war can be seen stored there.There is also an observation room for weapons,war-related information and other exhibition materials.If the historical site is preserved and developed as a tourist destination sindhuli fort can introduce nepal to the world. Government offices,a palace,a military ground and a sindhu temple have also been built during the construction of sindhuli fort.The gorkhali army who fought with the gods as witnesses used to worship sindhu goddess here with devotion. Therefore a temple of sindhu goddess can also be seen built there. It seems that efforts are being made to keep the history of sindhuli fort alive in this area.
This sindhuli fort is located in sindhuli district of janakpur zone. This fort can be seen on a high hill when going from kathmandu to banepa,dhulikhel,mulkot,khurkot.It is actually located in the middle of the BP highway from kathmandu to bardibas.This fort can be said to be located on the peak of mahabharat mountain.Mahabharat mountain is the highest peak for nepali citizens. This sindhuli fort can be called the living place of the nepal-british war. Accordingly in bikram samvat 2075 a palace was built under the leadership of colonel kirtiman khatri of sindhuli fort.That palace was built for the residence of the army’s chief and army.It had a 2-storey palace palace with 14 doors,56 windows,a zinc roof, cement and brick.That sindhuli fort’s palace was reconstructed and made more attractive.Recently due to lack of conservation on one has paid attention to the historical site of sindhuli fort.The place where sindhuli fort is located is at an altitude of about 4648 feet above sea level.The sindhuli fort area also looks very beautiful in terms of nature.
The sindhuli fort route can be considered an old route.Around bikram sambat 1367 the doyas ruled simraundadh.The army there had looted kathmandu extensivelly and fled through the sindhuli fort’s route. While fleeing they returned to sitamarhi in india via benepa,sindhuli fort snd janakpur.It is also known that in bikram samvat 1034 a crown was offered at the kamalamai temple which is under sindhuli district.This also shows that the devotees who came to visit the temple used to come through the same fort route.It can be said that the kamalamai temple was built about 1030 years ago.Therefore it can be said that sindhuli fort was a main route whether to go to the terai or to dolakha and kathmandu.About 40 years after the doyas run away from kathmandu another robbery took place in kathmandu in the month of bikram sambat 1406 during the reign of king jayasthiti malla.It is said that the sultan of bengal samsuddin ilyas almost destroyed kathmandu during that robbery.At that time the sultan when he run away from kathmandu after looting kathmandu returned via the same sindhuli fort route.This sindhuli fort was built by the ruler of makawanpur.Enemies used to come through this fort to attack kathmandu frequently.Therefore history says that the then king jayasthiti malla built this fort between bikram sambat 1411 to 1452.With the change of time yaksha malla the grandson of jayasthiti malla attacked the kingdoms of mithila,morang magadha.Thus after attacking and taking control of those kingdoms the rulers of the defeated kingdoms built fort there to prevent them from attacking again.The military strength in that fort was increased around bikram samvat 1500.In later times this fort was the main route used by traders from mithila,magadja and bengal to trade in dolakha,banepa and kathmandu.In bikram samvat 1657 the then king of kantipur shiva singh malla provided additional security to this sindhuli fort.After he took control of makawanpur ,sindhuli and morang kingdoms there was a fear that the rulers of bengal would further attacks on the kantipur kingdom. Therefore it is found in history that he had arranged additional soldiers with increased vigilance in this fort. At one time sindhuli fort was also called dewanguri.The attack of the doyas which is found in the history of sindhuli fort is that various major events took place at different times. The attack which has historical significance not only from bikram sambat 1367 but also from the rana period and the shah period is also the main route to and from the pashupatinath temple and budhanilakantha temple in kathmandu.The eastern route to janakpur and jaganathpuri also had to pass through this fort.There are various theories about the naming of sindhuli fort.At that time the sena kings of makawanpur ruled the area. Raghava narendra sena ruled this place in sambat 30.Sindhuli was named after that raghava sena and later sundhuli fort was named after him because he built a fort at this place.In some tamang languages firewood is called sing and the work of cutting or searching for firewood is called thuji.It is said that the name of this section later came to be sindhuli because the forest here was known as the forest of the tamang tribe who used to search for firewood.It is said that the sindhuli was called sindhuli because a fort was built at that place.Friends what do you think of the information about sindhuli fort ? If you see any shortcomings in this information please comment.
