The Munger Fort, located at Munger (also spelt as Monghyr during the British Raj), in the state of Bihar, India, is built on a rocky hillock on the south bank of the Ganges River. Its history is not completely dated but it is believed that it was built during the early rule of Slave dynasty of India. The Munger town where the fort is situated was under the control of Muhammad bin Tughluq of Delhi (1325–1351 CE). The fort has two prominent hills called the Karnachaura or Karanchaura, and the other a built up rectangular mound deduced to be the location of a citadel of the fort with historical links. The fort had a succession of Muslim rulers (Khaljis, Tughlaqs, Lodis, Nawabs of Bengal, followed by Mughal rulers, till it was finally acceded to the British by Mir Quasim (1760–72), after unseating his father-in-law Mīr Jafar on the grounds of old age, for a monetary reward negotiated by Vansittart. This deal involved payment by the East India Company's merchants of an ad valorem duty of 9 percent, against an Indian merchant's duty of 40%. The fort became a place of considerable importance to the British in Bengal till 1947 (Indian independence).
The fort houses a number of religious and historic monuments such as the Tomb of Pir Shah Nufa (died 1497), Palace of Shah Suja, Tomb of Mulla Muhammad Said (died 1704 CE), the Kashtaharini Ghat on the Ganges River, Chandisthana (an ancient temple) and an 18th-century British cemetery. In recent times, a famous School of Yoga was established here.
Etymology The etymology of the word Munger prefixed to the fort and to the town also called by the same name is Mudgagiri with links to the Mahbharata epic. A copper plate inscription of Devapala alludes to Munger. Another version is that the name could have derived from either sage Mudgala or Maudgalyayana, a disciple of Buddha. A further explanation by General Cunningham is that it could have been named after the Mundas, its earliest inhabitants. C.E.A. Oldham gives a version that it was a "Munigriha" (the hermitage of a saint Muni). During British rule it was often spelt Monghyr or Monghir.For example in chapter XIV of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days: "Monghir, a more than European town, for it is as English as Manchester or Birmingham, with its iron foundries, edgetool factories, and high chimneys puffing clouds of black smoke heavenward."
History
The Fort's history has been traced from 1330 AD onwards, under the rule of Muhammad bin Tughluq of Delhi. But its ancient history, as a town, mostly ruled by Hindu kings, is initially traced from a stone inscription to Chandragupta (4th century CE), (after whom it was initially called Gupta Garhis) and later dated to the kingdom of Anga, the capital of which was at Champa near Bhagalpur, and the Pala kings in the 9th century AD.
Medieval period Munger, which was under the rule of the Karnataka dynasty of Mithila, was taken over by Bhaktiyar Khalji in 1225 AD and subsequently under the Khalji ruler, Gyasuddin Khalji.
Muslim rule For a brief period, it came under the control of Sultan of Bengal between 1301 CE and 1322 CE, following a peace treaty with Khaljis. This was followed by annexation of the area to Delhi by Muhammad bin Tughluq, during 1342 CE.
Inscriptions reveal that repairs were carried out to the fort during the reign of Prince Danyal of Bengal (son of Sultan Alauddin Husain Shah) who held the post of Governor of Bihar, after the defeat of Jampur rulers by the Sultan of Bengal. It is also stated that Prince Danyal of Bengal built the shrine of Sufi saint Shah Nafah within the south gate of the fort, in 1497 AD.
Suri rule In 1534 CE, in a battle which took place in the plains of Surajgarha, the formidable army of Ibrahim Khan of Munger was defeated and he was killed by Sher Shah Suri who established the Suri Empire. Thus, the fort came under Sher Shah Suri's overlordship (1486 – 22 May 1545). In the subsequent war that took place between Sher Shah and Humayun, the Mughal Emperor, Munger was the centre of battle between the Afghan and the Mughals. Sher Shah won and the Mughal rule was substituted by Afghan rule.
In 1590, the importance of the fort was enhanced by making it the headquarters of Bihar army of the rulers of Gaur under their general named Kutub Khan. Nasrat Shah had succeeded Hussain Shah in Bengal and his brother-in-law, Makhdun Alam, was given control of the Munger fort, which he, in turn, passed on to his general Kutub Khan.
Mughal rule From the time of the reign of Akbar in the late 16th century, Monghyr was controlled by the Mughal Emperors. Raja Todar Mal, Minister in the Mughal Empire had camped at this fort when he was deputed to put down the rebel forces of Bengal. He substantially refurbished the fortifications of the fort. After a series of intriguing changes in the governorship of Munger Shah Shuja, the second son of Shah Jahan, the Mughal Emperor and Aurangzeb's brother, had fled to this place to escape persecution, during his fight with his brothers for power. He was made governor of the region after protracted negotiations with his brothers Dara Shikoh, Murad and Aurangzeb, and under the treaty of 1658 Munger was added to Shuja's reign. Shuja built a palace on the west side of the fort, which has been described as " very large house where the king (Suja) lived, walled next to the river, for about one and half Kos with bricks and stones, with a wall fifteen yards high".
However, in 1745, Mustafa Khan, a rebel leader under General Alivardi Khan took control of the fort when its defences had weakened. After a few days of stay in the fort, he continued his campaign towards Patna with lots of guns and ammunition taken from the fort.
In the 4th Maratha war of 1744, the Maratha army had raided through Bihar and Munger. Jean Law, the French adventurer and partisan of Siraj ud-Daulah (1733 – 2 July 1757), the last independent Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was running away after the Battle of Plassey. In July 1757, the British attempted an attack on the fort. Eyre Coote, the British officer (heading the British force) reached Munger in pursuit of Jean Low. But he could not enter the well-fortified fort. He did not dare to attack the fort because the fort garrison had lined up "the ramparts with their matches held near the cannons." But the governor of the fort provided him boats.
In February 1760, Major Caillaud of the Nawab of Bengal and his supporters defeated the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II (1728–1806). The emperor and his army moved out not only from the fort but also from the district. With this victory, the rule of Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal began with Johan Stables, in charge of Munger fort, launching a successful attack on the Raja of Kharagpur who had opposed the Nawab of Bengal.
Nawab of Bengal's rule Monghyr was thus occupied by Mir Qasim Ali, the Nawab of Bengal (from 1760 to 1764). In 1763, Quasim shifted his capital from Murshidabad to Munger. His new appointee General Gurgin Khan from Isfahan patterned the Bengal Army on the lines of the British forces. At this fort, a factory for arsenal, for manufacturing of fire-arms was established. This tradition has continued to this day; several hundred families who have specialised in the manufacture of guns are continuing with this old tradition. He further added to the fortifications and also built palaces in the fort. Mir Quasim came to be known as a just ruler (he tried to eliminate corruption and injustice) but was also feared by his opponents as a fierce and ruthless warrior. He was also known for encouraging culture and had many scholars in his court. But all this ended soon as he had serious differences on trade and other administrative practices with the British. Mir Qasim later had to use the fort as a base for waging war against the British. But he was defeated in 1764. Later, he turned out to be a poor looser as he disgraced himself by committing serious atrocities on his own people in Munger fort and also in Patna, and also on the English army and other personnel who were captured in Patna. His criminal atrocities in Patna are known in the historical annals as the ‘Massacre of Patna’. Subsequently, the fort lost its glory. Lord Cornwallis, the governor general, in British India, had built a country house here.
British rule History also records a "White Mutiny" by disgruntled officers of the East India Company (who controlled the fort) in the precincts of the Munger Fort, which was put down in 1766 by Lord Clive. The mutiny broke out over the reduction of an extra monthly payment called bhatta to soldiers on active duty. After the suppression of the mutiny, a small garrison was thereafter stationed at the fort. Over the years, the maintenance of the fort was neglected.
The old British cemetery, also known as Lal Darwaza cemetery, lay just north-west of the north gate of Munger (Monghyr) Fort. It held monuments dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, included many obelisk tombs. The earliest of these monuments consisted of a massive black stone pillar, probably once part of a temple, which was erected to the memory of a youth named Stewart, who died at Munger in 1769. The latest monument was from 1862; shortly after which, the cemetery was closed. The Munger Fort was a place of considerable importance to the British East India Company and the British Raj until India's independence in 1947. The cemetery served as a final resting place for British officers and other personnel who died while stationed there.British Cemeteries of Monghyr by Vincent Davies, 2003.
Structure
Under the Mughal rule, the fort was substantially expanded as a strong military fortification. The fort was an impressive structure with massive gates, one of which had been a strong fortification with square towers, with a deep moat. The moat was in width, surrounding the land side of the fort, thus making it strategically formidable. It opens to the Ganges river (which is wide here, but crossed only by boats) at either end thus enhancing the fort's security.
The fort is spread over an area of over rocky hills with a peripheral length of . The fort has thick inner walls while the outer walls are thick forming the fortification, which is thick. The intervening space of between the inner and outer walls is filled with earth. The Ganges river hugs the fort walls on the west and partly in the north. On the landward side, there is a wide moat, which acts as a defence to the fortifications. There are four entry gates, within the octagonal fortress, with ramparts. The main gateway, called the Lal Darwaza, is still in good shape, even though the rest of the fort is mostly in ruins. This gate has a carved stone, which is said to belong to a Hindu or a Buddhist structure.
Other monuments in the fort
The famous monuments located within the fort are:
Tomb of Pir Shah Nufa Pir Shah Nufa, originally of Persin origin, was a Sufi saint who was sent to Munger by his guru Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer. His tomb dating his death to A.H. 596 (1177 AD) is located near a rampart in the fort close to the southern gate. It was built over an area of square with retaining walls supporting all round, on a high heap of earth . The carved stones of these ancient ruins were pitted by holes and depressions, with the belief that such disfiguring would cure certain diseases of children. The domed tomb chamber, square with circular turrets, also encloses a prayer room and a restroom.
Palace of Shah Shuja