But Dhangali is not all about its picturesque sights – nor is it merely an excellent spot for boating and fishing. In fact, it has stood witness to the history of the Pothohar region. Once the capital of Gakhars, the rulers of the Pothohar region, it was a bustling city. Today, much of that grandeur is gone, but there are still in existence the walls of a centuries-old fort, a mosque and, above all, a lot of tales.
These tales remind us that what is but a village today was once an urban centre. Stone by stone, though, that history is vanishing into oblivion.
Historically the place had been on the route to Kashmir. In fact, it had been part of a vital important trade route, ultimately connecting to Lahore and Kabul, and serving as the Indian Subcontinent’s portal into Central Asia. The old Grand Trunk road, before the time of Sher Shah Suri, passed through this area.
Dhangali, the word itself, is engulfed in quiet a bit of folklore. And so, for instance, to some it is a corrupted form of “Dayoo Gali”, a “brute’s street”. And for some, the Gali at the end is part of the sequence of the Galiyat – in the naming tradition of places like Ghora Gali, Natiha Gali etc. But this second one is quite an erroneous assumption – there is no geographical connection between Dhangali and the Galiyat region.
Rani Manghu led her army on many expeditions. She built a great dam for water storage - so that her troops might bathe themselves
According to Gakhars’ chronicles, the fort was built by Rajar Khan, a Gakhar chieftain, during the 12th century A.D. At that time, the area surrounding the fort and Dhangali was ruled by three Hindu clans: Kakk, Kalu and Kerry. After defeating these tribes, Rajar Khan settled here. But there was a problem!
Folklore tells of a ‘Dayoo’ (Monster) which inhabited a nearby cave.
Rajar Khan Gakhar was not going away. The tales say that he fought with the brutish monster. Ultimately, the monster was defeated and left that cave. The path that the monster followed to escape came to be known as ‘Dayoo Gali’ – which later came to be pronounced as “Dhangali”.
The place got a particular prominence during the reign of Sultan Sarang Khan Gakhar. While he was the ruler of Pothohar, he expanded the fort at Dhangali and built “Hathi Kothis” (Elephants’ stables) so as to house his princely animals.
During the rule of the Afghan Suri dynasty in the mid-16th century, as part of the reforms of the administrative genius Sher Shah Suri, a new system of land measurement, evaluation and revenue was introduced in India. In this process, Dhangali became a pargana (district) of the Sindh Sagar Doab, which was greatly prized for its fertility and rich agrarian output. There were more than 454 villages under the pargana of Dhangali and it remained the headquarters of the Gakhars.
The architecture of the Fort bears quite a lot of resemblance to other forts dating back to the time of the Gakhars – like Pharwala Fort, Ramkot Fort and Rawat Fort. As construction material, mainly sandstone and lime mortar are used. The existing walls of the fort cover a stretch of more than 1.5 km. In fact, some parts of the the fort today are occupied by locals. The Dhangali Mosque is, comparatively, in a good condition.
After the death of Sultan Sarang Khan Gakhar in the mid-16th century, the city saw much unrest and strife – as a power struggle broke out among the Gakhars to decide who would rule over this area.
In the time of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, during the late 17th century, a Janjua Raput lady named Rani Manghu ascended to rule this region. Relations between the Janjuas of the Salt Range and the Gakhars had never been good. As early as the birth of the Mughal dynasty, the Janjuas had complained of one Hathi Khan Gakhar to the conqueror of a new Subcontinental empire, Babur. The whole episode of this rivalry has been documented in the Baburnama. However Rani Manghu was the first who attempted to resolve the Janjua-Gakhar dispute.
Rani Manghu, having ascended to power, managed the affairs of administration deftly and made her mark in the region’s history through her bravery and philanthropy. She led her army on many expeditions – becoming a figure quite similar to the earlier Razia Sultana or the later Rani of Jhansi. She built a mighty dam for water storage – so that her troops might bathe themselves. Some 150 feet high and 164 feet (50 metres) wide, the Pakka Bann or Dam was built on a stream connecting to the Jhelum river. Signs of some of the stones of that 17th-century dam can be seen today, though a major part of that dam washed away over time.
Salman Rashid, acclaimed travel writer and fellow at the Royal Geographical Society, thinks that this dam belongs to an earlier period than that of the Gakhars. It could date back to perhaps the Hindu Shahi period or even earlier than that. He reasons as follows:
In remote parts of the Kirthar Mountains in Sindh and Balochistan I have seen ancient dams. But there the construction usually is of dressed blocks of stone and they are believed to date back to about the second or third century CE. The rubble masonry of Rani Manghu dam was a common construction method more than 2,000 years ago and thus rather tantalising. However, 2,000 years ago, the cement was not lime mortar and so I tentatively dated the edifice to anywhere between 500 to 1,000 years old.”
Relations between Mughals and Gakhars date back to at least Babur's period, who remained their ally for centuries
In any case, on the 3rd of Rajab 1087 AH, (the 11th of September 1676 AD ) the daughter of Rani Manghu married Prince Mohammad Akbar , fourth son of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The relations between Mughals and Gakhars date back to at least Babur’s period, who remained their ally for centuries. The rule of Rani Manghu lasted until 1705, when Dulu Dilawar Khan ,her son, came of age.
The downfall of the Gakhars commenced soon after. They were defeated by Gujjar Singh Bhangi, a formidable warrior of the Sikh Khalsa. The last Gakhar ruler Sultan Muqarab Khan was killed. Thousands of Gakhars were likewise killed – and many more displaced.
It is mentioned in many Sikh texts that Bhai Bala, a companion of Baba Guru Nanak, stayed at Dhangali and his Samadhi is located there. Many have mentioned such a site, but there are no remaining signs of a Samadhi of Bala here. It may have been brought down after the 1947 Partition.
Raja Tasleem Ahmed Kiani frequently goes to Dhangali to look upon the ruins which bear testament to the long, illustrious history of his forefathers. He tries do what he can to prevail upon the authorities to preserve this heritage site. He notes:
“The Archaeology Department surveyed this site for the first time back in 2009. Before that, aboslutely nothing had been done to document and preserve this fort. The fort is merely a 35 km drive from Islamabad. This can easily be a major tourist attraction – including those from foreign countries.”
With mighty walls that spread over a vast area and high, proud bastions Dhangali was the site of one of the major forts of the Sindh Sagar Doab. Some parts of that fort have been swept away over time by the Jhelum and some have been lost to the negligence or apathy of the Archaeology Deparment.
What was once a significant commercial centre of the whole region is now merely one village.
The author tweets at @Ammad_Alee