Lodhi Fort

The 500+ year old Lodhi Fort was constructed by Sikandar Lodhi in the last decade of the 15th century in Ludhiana, which itself got its name from the Lodhi dynasty, and was formerly known as Lodhi-ana. It is the oldest surviving structure in the city. Sikandar's own father, Bahlol Lodhi, had been born in Sirhind and served as its governor before ascending the Delhi throne, and the Lodhis, unlike many of the Afghan dynasties before them, were themselves born in the subcontinent rather than arriving as outsiders. In 1480, Sikandar Lodhi sent two of his commanders, Yusuf Khan and Nihang Khan, to secure the region. Nihang Khan came upon a small village called Mir Hota (or Hota Meer) on the eastern bank of the Sutlej and established a fortified settlement there, while Yusuf Khan crossed the river to deal with a Khokhar rebellion, later founding what became Sultanpur Lodhi. The fort passed through Mughal rule as part of the Sirhind Suba under Akbar, and later came under Sikh control as Mughal authority in the region crumbled through the eighteenth century. It was kept in good repair under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and, after him, by the British, who used Ludhiana as a key garrison town on the frontier along the Sutlej. After the British period, the fort's upkeep was neglected, and its barracks and much of its structure fell into ruin. For a time, part of the fort complex housed the Government Institute of Textile Chemistry and Knitting Technology before the institute relocated elsewhere in the city. Long overlooked and without central protection, Lodhi Fort was finally declared a state-protected monument in December 2013. It has now fallen into disrepair & only viewable from outside.