Badrukhan Fort

Anyone driving the highway west out of Sangrur passes Badrukhan without a second glance, yet the fort at its centre connects the village to the most famous ruler in Punjab’s history. It was raised in the 18th century while Gajpat Singh ruled Jind, and it was the childhood home of his daughter Raj Kaur, who later became the mother of Ranjit Singh. Whether Ranjit Singh himself was born here is still argued. Most historians say Gujranwala, his father’s seat. Badrukhan’s supporters point to a Malwa practice in which a woman returned to her parents’ house to give birth to her first child. Raj Kaur’s husband, Maha Singh, was also busy fighting rival misls, including the Kanhaiya and the Bhangi, which gives some weight to the idea that he sent her somewhere secure. Even if he was born elsewhere, accounts say the boy spent time at his maternal grandfather’s fort in the 1780s, where he began learning to ride and fight. The fort is built of slim red bricks, with thick walls, a wide wooden gate and a row of windows. Parts have been modified in recent times, but the front elevation and the oldest sections show the original construction. A haveli stands inside, along with smaller rooms that visitors believe once housed servants. A small structure by the entrance, probably a guardroom, now operates as a shop. The fort is falling apart, although enough remains to suggest what it once was. It is still owned privately by the family’s descendants, so it is closed to outsiders and can only be seen from the road. Despite its importance to Sikh history, it remains little known beyond the surrounding area.