Sher Garhi Palace

Sher Garhi Palace

Sher Garhi Palace in its heyday

For other places with the same name, see Shergarh.

Sher Garhi Palace is a former palace in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The complex is located in the south of the Old City at the banks of the Jhelum river. It was the residence of the Afghan rulers and Dogra Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir.

Constructed in the 18th century, it has been continuously expanded and transformed. It is a fine example of Anglo-Kashmir architecture. Fires in the 1970s and the start of the 21st century destroyed major parts of the palace. As from 2015, restoration works have started on the remaining palace complex. An art museum gallery has been opened in the old council building in 2020.

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

19th century map of Srinagar by Sahib Ram showing the Jhelum river with seven bridges and the Sher Garhi Palace

Maharadja Gulab Singh, first Maharadja of the Dogra Dynasty

Sher Garhi Palace in the 1860s

Maharadja Pratap Singh (1848-1925), under who the neoclassical palace facade was constructed

Sher Garhi Palace in 1876

Sher Garhi Palace on a magic lantern slide before the neoclassical wing was constructed

Sher Garhi Palace in 1906

Bridge over the Jhelem river with the Sher Garhi palace in the back (1969), before fires destroyed the riverbank part of the palace

Jhelum river front

What remained of Jhelum river front of the Sher Garhi Palace after the fires

Duranni empire

In the second half of the 18th century, Kashmir was part of the Durrani Empire, also known the Afghan empire. Its second ruler, Timur Shah Durrani, 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 and its nobles 170 years to construct. However, he also constructed in Srinagar. In 1772, the construction of a fortress and palace started, the tiger fortress. As location, the 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".

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 rule, Kashmir fell to the conquering armies of the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh of Punjab after the Battle of Shopian in 1819. The Sikh governors continued to use the Sher Garhi palace.

In 1846, after the Sikh defeat in the First Anglo-Sikh War, and upon the purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar, the Maharadja of Jammu, Gulab Singh (1792-1857), became the new ruler of Kashmir. 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) renovated and extended the Sher Garhi palace several times.

Around 1900, the Jhelum river front of the palace was reconstructed in neoclassical style with Corinthian columns. The complex was a good example of blending English and Kashmir architecture. The buildings in the complex are quadrangular in plan and built entirely in stone with wooden doors, ceilings and roofs.

In the 1930s, Maharadja Hari Singh (1895-1961) constructed the Gulab Bhavan palace as a new residence in the eastern part of Srinagar, overlooking the Dal Lake. From then on, the palace was more and more used by 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 Sheikh Abdullah 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, 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.

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

Maharadja Ranbir Singh was ruler over Kashmir when William Wakefield visited Srinagar

1870s map of Srinagar (Victoria and Albert Museum), the large red block middle right is the Sher Garhi palace

Detail from the 1870s Srinagar map showing the palace

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

Maharadja Hari Singh, who ruled Kashmir in the 1940s

Sher Garhi Palace in 1936

The Maharadja arriving by barge at the Sher Garhi Palace

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.