Tughlaqabad Fort: The Story of a “Cursed Fort”, The Haunted Place in Delhi.

Delhi is the city of Forts, Qila's, Tombs, Dargahs and Old Temples. It has classic tales of rise and fall of Dynasties. The city has always played an important role in the history of India.

 

Legend has is that Delhi was built and destroyed seven times and that anyone who builds a new city in Delhi sees its empire collapse, which has indeed proven to be true several times.

 

It was last week of February sun was shining, a cold but cosy warm breeze was in air. I was free from a luxurious marriage function of a close relative. So we decided to explore Delhi.

My choice for the day's excursion was “Tughlaqabad Fort a “Cursed Fort”, The Haunted Place in Delhi.”, as it was close to our place of stay.

Obaidur Rahman Makki, my sister and Nabeel Firoz too were ready to accompany me. Obaidur Rahman Makki is a renowned historian. History and archeology are his two favourite subjects.

Tughlaqabad Fort is ruins frozen in time. The remains of this massive complex stretch as far as the eye can see. Delhi never fails to mesmerize us with its iconic history. The ruins of various forts, cities, and palaces are still living in Delhi’s every corner.

As you go along the Badarpur-Mehrauli road in south Delhi, you may come across scattered signs of a fort—half-broken sloping walls, large bastions and broken arches.

 

What you see are the ruins of Tughlaqabad Fort, surrounded by what was once a whole city built from scratch. Now this is a haunted place in Delhi.

 

The ravages of time have crept into the bricks and crevasses as overgrown weeds and unbidden foliage.

Once upon a time, Tughlaqabad was meant to be a fortified city meant for royalty and courtiers, an impenetrable fort protected at all times from the attacks of enemies. But fate had other plans. Its story is one of power, ambition and the hubris of great emperors.  Now Haunted Place in Delhi

 

Curious silence envelops this fort perpetually. It feels as if the 700 years old curse still shrouds this mammoth structure.

 

Here is story behind this cursed, and haunted “Tughlaqabad Fort”.

Tughlaqabad Fort was built in 1321, by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, the very first ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty. Tughlaq’s name was Ghazi Malik, and he started out as a governor under the rule of Alauddin Khalji.

Gyisuddin Tughlaq

According to popular legend The story goes that:-

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, whose original name was Ghazi Malik, was a governor under the rule of Alauddin Khalji. Historians say when Mubarak Khalji succeeded his father’s throne, Malik suggested he build a fortified city.

 

Mubarak laughed off the proposition, telling Malik to do it himself if he became king. In 1320 AD, as Malik took over the throne and became  he began work on his ambitious plan. The fortress of Tughlaqabad stands on a rocky hill, about 8 kilometres from the Qutub Minar, and is the third of the seven cities of Delhi.

 

In those days, attacks by Mongols were common. Tughlaq wanted to build a fort that would defend the Sultanate of Delhi, one that would be impenetrable.

So he engaged labourers to build high walls, battlements and semi-circular bastions, from where enemies could be identified and attacked.

 

The fort was part of the larger city, which also had a palace area for royalty to reside, as well as houses along one side.

 

A dam was built to trap water from a naturally flowing stream, and convert it into a lake. Along with being a reservoir, the lake would also be an obstacle for any incoming enemies.

Legend has it that Tughlaq was so deeply passionate about this dream city that he ordered every labourer in the Sultanate of Delhi to work on constructing it.

 

The Curse Story: Sufi Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya

At the same time as the city and fort were being built, Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya is said to have been building a stepwell at his dwelling.

 

Since everyone was busy constructing the fort, he couldn’t find labourers to build his stepwell. So, labourers would work on the fort during the day, and spend the night building the stepwell.

 

When Tughlaq found out Nizamuddin Auliya was engaging his labourers for work, he was furious. In a fit of rage, he banned the supply of oil to the site of the stepwell, so no lamps could be lit for work to go on at night.

Equally enraged, the mystical saint Nizamuddin is said to have turned the water in his well into oil. He cursed the city of Tughlaqabad, saying “Ya rahe ujjar ya base gujjar”, which translates to “it will remain desolate or be occupied by herdsmen”.

 

According to legend, when Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq embarked on his campaign in Bengal, he discovered that the workers had disregarded his orders and were involved in the construction of Auliya's water tank.

"Hunuz Dilli dur ast," which means "Delhi is yet far off."

This infuriated him to such an extent that he vowed to punish the saint upon his return. Upon hearing this, Nizamuddin Auliya uttered a curse, declaring, "Hunuz Dilli dur ast," which means "Delhi is yet far off."

 

It is believed that this curse manifested itself in reality.

During their return journey, a pavilion erected to commemorate Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq's triumph in the Bengal campaign collapsed, resulting in his death and the demise of his younger son.

Tughlaq’s fortified city was built over four years, between AD1320-1324. Though he managed to achieve his ambitious dream, now the fort and the city remained largely unoccupied.

Meena Bazaar

As we walk in the citadel, we come across a series of underground chambers. Some say this was once a bazaar where vendors sold their wares to the ladies of the palace. Others surmise that this could have been a granary that held food reserves in case of a long siege.

Meena Bazaar

There’s a pervading smell of damp ammonia underground, probably from the hundreds of bats that now live here. The steps are uncomfortably high.

I climb up towards the sun, wondering about the trials and tribulations that Tughlaq and his soldiers must have lived with. 

It was abandoned when Tughlaq’s elder son Mohammad bin Tughlaq shifted the capital to Daulatabad to build his own fortified city called Jahanpanah.

Many believe it was Nizamuddin’s mythical curse that led to the fort’s decline. Others say it was shortage of water in the area that made the fort uninhabitable.

We roamed about three hours inside Tughlaqabad cursed Fort, knee and feet were exhausted.it was impossible to roam more, stomach was empty, and body was asking some energy. So we returned back. Coming on road we treated us with hot tea and some snaks from a road side vendor.

And the rest is history.

The End