In news : The President of India laid the foundation stone for the conservation works of Singorgarh Fort in Singrampur village of Damoh district in Madhya Pradesh
About the Singorgarh Fort
- This fort is an old hill-fort of the Gondwana dynasty which is spread over hills in a forested area.
- It was a magnificent fort and was residence of Gond rulers of Central India
- It was attacked in June, 1564 during the last war of the Garha Kingdom dynasty, under the rule of Rani Durgavati.
- Before Gond rulers, it was under Chandela rulers of Bundelkhand region
- During the 1308, the Singorgarh was ruled by Vyaghradev Ji who was ruler of Kumhari and was under rulers of Kalinjar.
- The Gond ruler Sangramshahi conquered the Singorgarh fort in the early period of the 16th century.
- Sangram Shahi was a powerful Gond ruler and was Father in Law of Rani Durgavati.
- In 1564 the Mughal army, led by Asaf Khan (from Kunda, Uttar Pradesh), with assistance of Rewa rulers, attacked on Gond Kingdom, then it was ruled by Queen Durgavati & she was present in the same Singorgarh fort.
Gond rulers
- The first historically recorded Gond kingdoms came up in central India’s hilly region in the 14th and 15th century AD.
- The first Gond king was Jadurai, who deposed the Kalchuri Rajputs, at whose court he had earlier worked, to grab the kingdom of Garha Mandla (modern Mandla and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh).
- The most illustrious rulers in this dynasty were the iconic queen, Rani Durgavati, whom the Gond community reveres, and Hirde Shah, the first Gond king to adopt Islam.
Source: PIB & Down to Earth
