Where stones remember: The forgotten rebellion of a hilltop citadel

Perched on a rugged ridge straddling the Kangra and Una districts of Himachal Pradesh, the Rajpura-Jaswan Fort sits quietly, its weathered stones cloaked in moss and memory. Once a proud sentinel of the hills, the fort now crumbles, not from conquest, but from neglect. Yet, within its ivy-covered ramparts survives a legacy too powerful to be erased — one of courage, cultural richness and resistance against imperial might.

Belonging to the Jaswal Rajputs, a valiant offshoot of the ancient Katoch dynasty, the fort served as more than a fortress. It was a crucible of art, administration and aristocracy, nestled near Nehrian in Amb. Close by lies Pragpur, Himachal’s only heritage village — named after Princess Prag Dei, a Jaswal royal whose name still graces the region. But it was in the year 1848 that Rajpura-Jaswan carved its boldest chapter into the chronicles of history.

A bastion of resistance

Long before 1857 shook the foundations of British rule, the hills trembled with an uprising of their own. Raja Umed Singh of Jaswan, alongside fellow rulers like Wazir Ram Singh Pathania of Nurpur and Raja Pramodh Chand of Kangra, stood defiantly against British dominance. Their fortresses became strongholds of a forgotten revolution.

In response, Lord Henry Lawrence, Commissioner of Jalandhar, marched swiftly with 500 British troops. The odds were grim, but the Jaswals did not flinch. Behind its thick Nankshahi brick walls, held firm by lime mortar, the fort stood tall against the roars of British cannon fire.

Eventually, the guns prevailed. Raja Umed Singh and his son Jai Singh were captured and exiled to Almora, where they perished after years of confinement. Yet their rebellion—though crushed — became a beacon of Himalayan resistance, illuminating a narrative overlooked in the broader freedom struggle.

A legacy left in dust

Despite defeat, the Jaswals endured. In 1877, the British reinstated the Jaswan title to Ran Singh, a descendant of Umed Singh. Raghunath Singh, linked by marriage to Jammu royalty, was granted a jagir in Ramkot, ensuring the Jaswal name lived on—even if their fortress didn’t.

Today, the Rajpura-Jaswan Fort wears its past like a fading crown—majestic, yet mournful. Local voices, like that of Verinder Singh Jaswal, a royal descendant, continue to advocate for its revival. “This is more than stone and mortar,” he says. “It’s our story.”

As modern roads and concrete creep closer, the fort poses a question to the present: Will we honour the echoes of resistance—or let them fall silent beneath the weight of time?