Sher Garhi Palace
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The Sher Garhi Palace is a historic royal residence in
Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...
, Jammu and Kashmir,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Situated south of the Old City of Srinagar, along the banks of the
Jhelum River The Jhelum River is a major river in South Asia, flowing through India and Pakistan, and is the westernmost of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian-administered territory of Jammu ...
, its name,"Sher Garhi," translates to "Fort of the Lion,"highlighting its role as a prominent seat of power. Initially constructed in 1772 by Afghan governor Jawansher Khan, it served as the residence of Afghan rulers before becoming home to the
Dogra __NOTOC__ Dogras, or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic community of Pakistan and India. Dogra, Dogras or Dogri may also refer to: * Dogra dynasty, a Hindu dynasty of Kashmir * Dogri language, a language spoken by Dogras and other ethnic commu ...
Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir. The palace is an architectural landmark, showcasing a blend of Anglo-Kashmir design that merges European influences with traditional Kashmiri styles. Throughout the 19th century, it underwent significant expansions and adaptations, reflecting the evolving needs of its royal occupants. Despite suffering extensive damage due to fires in the 1970s and early 2000s, restoration efforts began in 2015 to preserve its historic value. Part of the palace complex now houses an art museum gallery, opened in 2020, while another wing along the Jhelum River serves as the Srinagar City Museum, making the site a cultural hub and a testament to Kashmir’s rich heritage.


Name

The name Sher Garhi means ''tiger fortress''. The palace complex is also known as the ''Old Secretariat'', reflecting the time the building was housing government offices and civil services.


History


Duranni empire

In the second half of the 18th century, Kashmir was part of the
Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...
, also known the Afghan empire. Its second ruler,
Timur Shah Durrani Timur Shah Durrani (; ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – 20 May 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the second e ...
, appointed Amir Khan Sher Jawan as governor. He was responsible for pulling down royal palaces and other buildings around the Dal Lake, which had taken the
Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...
and its nobles 170 years to construct. However, he also constructed in Srinagar. In 1772, the construction of a
fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...
and palace started, the ''tiger fortress''. As a location, the governor chose the (former) site where the Lohara king Ananta built his royal palace in 1062–63. It is said that stones for the construction came from the '' Pathar Masjid'', a Mughal era
stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
located in the old city of Srinagar. For the construction works, the Governor sought support of the Hanjis (boatmen) who were a sturdy class of people capable of answering his purpose. With their help, the fortress was built as well as the Amira Kadal bridge, which was constructed between 1774 and 1777. In addition, the Governor also created the Amirabad garden on the western side of the Dal Lake. Under all Amir Khan Jawansher's successors, both Afghan and Dogra and including the current Indian government, the palace and its direct surroundings remained the main power center in Kashmir.


Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu (Dogra rule)

After four centuries of
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
rule, Kashmir fell to the conquering armies of the
Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...
under
Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...
of
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
after the Battle of Shopian in 1819. The Sikh governors continued to use the Sher Garhi palace. Gulab Singh (1792-1857) is the founder of the
Dogra dynasty The Dogra dynasty of Dogra Rajputs from the Shivalik hills created Jammu and Kashmir through the treaties with the East India Company following the First Anglo-Sikh war. Events led the Sikh Empire to recognise Jammu as a vassal state in 1820, ...
. Initially, he was a loyal vassal of the Sikh Empire, who, alongside his general Zorawar Singh (dubbed “India’s Napoleon” for his conquests in the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
), expanded Sikh territories to encompass
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
,
Baltistan Baltistan (); also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet, is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan and constitutes a northern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute bet ...
, and much of
Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...
. In recognition of his services, Gulab Singh was appointed as the Raja of
Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...
in 1822. When Maharaja Ranjit Singh passed away in 1839, his empire began to fragment, and the
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
grew increasingly influential. This led to the
First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 around the Firozpur district of Punjab. It resulted in the defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of Jammu ...
(1845–46), during which Gulab Singh played a controversial role, being accused of collaborating with the British. The war culminated in the Treaty of Lahore, which ceded several Sikh territories, including Jammu and Kashmir, to the British. Shortly afterward, the Treaty of Amritsar (1846) formalised Gulab Singh’s acquisition of the region. In exchange for 7.5 million Nanakshahi rupees (the Sikh currency of the time), Gulab Singh was recognised by the British as the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, acquiring all territories between the
Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...
and Ravi rivers, including Chamba (though not Lahul, in present-day
Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
. Initially assigned the region near present-day Balakot in
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, he opted to exchange it for land closer to Jammu, preferring to avoid the unrest there. Gulab Singh chose to move his capital from Jammu to the Kashmir Valley, to
Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...
to reside at the Sher Garhi Palace, leaving the Jammu region under the control of his son, Maharaja Ranbir Singh (1830-1885). This was the start of Dogra dynasty, which remained in control over the '' Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu'' (as it was then called) until Indian independence in 1947. During the 19th century, Gulab Singh and his successors, Ranbir Singh (1830–1885) and Pratap Singh (1848–1925), undertook extensive renovations and expansions of the Sher Garhi Palace, transforming it into a prominent royal complex. The Dogra Maharajas established Srinagar as their summer capital, while Jammu, featuring the Mubarak Mandi Palace, served as their winter capital. Around 1900, the palace’s riverfront along the Jhelum River was rebuilt in a neoclassical style, characterized by Corinthian columns, enhancing its grandeur. The Sher Garhi Palace complex became a notable example of architectural syncretism, blending elements of English and Kashmiri design. The buildings in the complex were designed with a quadrangular layout, constructed primarily from stone, and featured intricate wooden doors, ceilings, and roofs. By the 1930s, Maharaja Hari Singh (1895–1961) commissioned the construction of the Gulab Bhavan palace as his new residence in eastern Srinagar, overlooking the Dal Lake. Subsequently, Sher Garhi Palace saw a decline in its use as a royal residence and increasingly served administrative purposes, housing the civil services of the princely state.


20th century post 1947

After the accession of Kashmir to India, the palace obtained the name the "Old Secretariat". Initially, it housed various administrative departments of the government of Jammu and Kashmir. Also, the state assembly and legislative council was housed in the palace. Therefore, it is sometimes also called the "Old Assembly" complex. As
chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah was the founding leader and President of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Confer ...
apparently saw the palace as symbol of Dogra rule, the complex was slowly abandoned. In the 1970s and at the start of the 21st century, the palace was gutted by fire destroying major parts, such as the Jhelum river front.


21st century

In 2015, chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed announced that the complex would be restored to its original glory in order to conserve heritage monuments and attract heritage loving tourists to Kashmir. It was declared a state protected monument under SRO 270 on 6 July 2017. In one of the remaining and restored 18th century buildings, the so-called old council building or old assembly, an art museum gallery has been opened in 2020. It is the aim that around 1,500 miniature paintings on different themes will be on display, from the SPS Museum and other sister departments. Also, the Archival reference library of the Kashmir department of Archives Archaeology & Museums is housed in the palace. Further, the palace grounds houses the Shri Gadadhar Ji temple, which has a golden rood and is directly located at the river. The temple is managed by the Dharmarth Trust of Jammu and Kashmir. This trust is chaired by Karan Singh, the son of Maharadja Hari Singh.


Gallery: Development of the Sher Garhi palace over time

File: Srinagar Sher Garhi Palace seen from the first bridge 1861.png, Sher Garhi Palace seen from the first bridge on the Jhelum river (1861) File: Sher Garhi Palace John Burke 1860-1869 J Paul Getty Museum.jpg, Sher Garhi Palace in the 1860s File: Sher Garhi Palace 1876.jpg, Sher Garhi Palace in 1876 File: Srinagar Palace - Magic Lantern Slide 1900s.png, Sher Garhi Palace on a magic lantern slide before the neoclassical wing was constructed File: Sher Garhi Palace Walter del Mar 1906.jpg, Sher Garhi Palace in 1906 File: Srinagar Sher Garhi Palace - First half of 20th century.png, The palace on an old postcard File: Sher Garhi Palace RJ Holmes 1920.jpg, The palace in the 1920s File: Sher Garhi Palace by H A Mirza and Sons around 1920.jpg, The palace along the Jhelum river File: Srinagar Sher Garhi Palace 1890.png, Another view of the palace in the 1920s File: Srinagar Sher Garhi Palace 1960s.jpg, The palace in the 1960s - The palace was rebuilt in the 1930s after an earthquake File: Srinagar (Kashmir), 1969, bridge over the Jelhum river..jpg, Bridge over the Jhelum river with the Sher Garhi palace in the back (1969), before fires destroyed the riverbank part of the palace File: Sher Ghari Palace 2016.JPG, What remained of Jhelum river front of the Sher Garhi Palace after the fires File: Srinagar Sher Garhi Palace City Museum 001.png, The remaining part of the Jhelum river wing houses the Srinagar City museum File: Srinagar Sher Garhi Palace Art Gallery 001.png, The Old Secretariat building serves now as an Art Gallery


19th century description of the Sher Garhi palace by William Wakefield

A description of the palace and its surroundings can be found in ''The Happy Valley: Sketches of Kashmir & the Kashmiris'' written by William Wakefield in 1879. ''"Pursuing our course down the river the sides of which in former days were em- banked from the first to the last bridge, by an embankment composed of large blocks of limestone, of which at present the ruined remains are all that is left we soon come to a large building, the Sher Garhi, the city fort and palace.'' ''"Situated on the left bank, it presents to the river, which flows along its eastern side, a long loop- holed wall, with bastions rising between twenty and thirty feet above the general level of the water, surmounted by roomy, but lightly-built, houses. Its southern and western sides are protected by a wide ditch ; the Kut-i-Kul canal bounds it on the north, and in its interior are grouped a number of dwelling- houses for the officials of the court, government offices, and barracks.'' ''"On its wall, facing the river, and perched upon one of the bastions, is a large double-storied house, the abode of the Dewan or Prime Minister, and just below his residence is a long lofty building, the government treasury, containing shawls, ‘pushmeena,’ coin, and other valuable property.'' ''"A curious-looking wooden building comes next, the Rang Mahal or ‘audience hall,’ a part of the royal residence, which is just below it, styled the Baradarri, and which is unquestionably the most important modern structure in Srinagar. It is a large irregular building of a peculiar style, for while partly of native architecture, one portion, with a large projecting bow, partakes somewhat of an European character. A flight of wide stone steps leads up from the water’s edge at the angle of this building, and conducts into the palace.'' ''"Adjoining is the temple frequented by the ruler and family, called the Maharaj-ke-Mandir, the domed roof of which is covered with thin plates of pure gold, which glitters in the sunlight, causing it to be plainly perceptible a long distance away.'' ''"To reach the interior of the palace, one ascends by the before -mentioned steps, which at all times of the day appear thronged with people, some waiting to prefer petitions to the sovereign or his ministers as they descend to their boats, others to obtain a hearing or justice, which is here administered in open court daily by the governor. To the more private portion of the palace they have no access; for, guarding the gateway at the top of the stairs which leads directly into the royal abode, stands a sentry, a warrior belonging to the Kashmir, army, and near by is the guard-room, what we should call in our service the main-guard."''


The Sher Garhi palace in the 1940s

Another description of the palace can be found in ''In the land of Kashmir, Ladakh & Gilgit'' written by R C Arora in May 1940. ''"The grand magnificent buildings with huge massive walls, lofty columns, gigantic towers and a massive gilt domed temple standing on the left bank the Jhelum below Amirakadal are the old palaces, called 'Shergarhi' but now the Secretariat of Kashmir Government. The buildings constitute an excellent well-decorated Darbar Hall, Governor's Office, State treasury, etc. A long vista of broad river with reflections of magnificent buildings and gliding of boats on its placid waters backed by the distant mountain ranges makes a most picturesque scene. The charm of the illuminations on these buildings on occasions like Maharaja's birthday, Diwali etc. is indescribably fascinating.'' ''"The palace was badly injured by the earthquake but part of it has been re-built. Beyond the golden temple is the beautiful mansion built by the late Raja Sir Amar Singh, father of the present Maharaja.'' Sher Gadhi, an architectural marvel of its time, was constructed by the renowned Shah family of Shopian during the reign of the Maharaja of Kashmir. The Shah family, historically recognized for their significant contributions to business and infrastructure development in the Anantnag district, played a pivotal role in shaping the region’s architectural landscape. Prominent members of the family, including Malik Sikandar Shah, Malik Aziz Shah, and Malik Akram Shah, were pioneers in trade and government contracting. Their work encompassed the construction of notable landmarks such as bridges, government buildings, and postal bungalows. Sher Gadhi, located near the Old Secretariat on the banks of the Jhelum River in Srinagar, served as the Maharaja’s Secretariat and remains an enduring symbol of the family’s legacy and craftsmanship. Sher Gadhi is remembered not only for its historical significance but also for its intricate design, which reflects the architectural ingenuity of the era. It continues to stand as a testament to the Shah family’s contributions to Kashmir’s cultural and infrastructural heritage.


References


External links

{{Commons category, Sher Garhi Palace Buildings and structures in Srinagar Jammu and Kashmir (princely state) Former palaces History of Kashmir Royal residences in India Palaces in Jammu and Kashmir Tourist attractions in Srinagar 1772 establishments in India