The Union Territory of Ladakh, amidst the beautiful hills of the Himalayas, is the historical heritage of the country. It is said that in the 8th century, Thatta Khan laid the foundation of Chiktan Fort, 75 km from Kargil. This 9 storey fort was completed in 9 years 9 months and 9 days. People from abroad used to come here. But, now this fort has turned into ruins and is deserted. Despite this, tourists come to see this fort. Do you know the story of the construction of the fort at this deserted place and then its destruction?
In the show ‘Ekant’ released on the OTT platform Discovery Plus, it is told that in the 8th century there used to be a prince Thata Khan in Baltistan (across the Line of Control). His two elder brothers were jealous of his popularity. He conspired to kill Thatta Khan. However, news of this reached the royal court musicians. He gave this message to Thatta Khan through song. It is said that at that very moment Thatta Khan got up on the pretext of dancing and turned his shawl and extinguished the candles burning there. He escaped from there taking advantage of the darkness. After this Thatta Khan escaped from there and took refuge in Chiktan area. He was mesmerized by the beauty of this place. He decided to build a fort here.
However, he could only build a small palace at this place. Later his descendant Raja Tsering Malik completed the construction of the palace in the 16th century. The royal family lived in this palace for centuries. This royal palace was built with great effort by two artisans from Baltistan, Shinkhen Chandan and his son. This place is near the salt hills, whose beauty will win your heart. It is said that once this fort and palace was a magnificent example of architecture. This palace was constructed by selecting stones from mud mortar. Timber was used to support the roof. The wooden doors and windows had exquisite carvings.
Kachu Ishfinder Khan is a retired IAS officer who belongs to the 35-36th generation of Thata Khans. He has been the Commissioner of Kargil. In the show ‘Ekant’ he told that the fort of Chiktan had 9 floors. It is said that there was a revolving room in the palace, which started rotating as soon as there was a gust of wind. It was truly amazing at that time. A palace was built on one of the two hills for the residence of the royal family and a fort was built on the other hill. A temporary bridge was also built to connect the two. In case of attack the bridge can also be removed. The fort was constructed in such a way that if it was closed, water from the nearby Indus River would always flow into it. Tunnels were also made to escape from the fort, which are now buried under the debris.
Local people say that the Dogra king of Jammu did not like the growing popularity of the king in the region. He made a plan and attacked the palace. Chiktan Palace was attacked several times. When the royal family left the palace in the late 19th century, it began to decline. Most of the damage to this historical site occurred in the middle of the 20th century. It is said that the king’s father-in-law wanted to build a hospital here. For this, bricks were required, which were used by breaking the wall of the fort. After this the local people also started removing bricks and wood from the fort wall. Gradually this fort turned into ruins. Today the ruins of the fort sometimes tell the story of its massive building.
