There are many amazing forts in our country, but most are now in ruinous condition. Bhushna Fort is such a fort. Many of us have probably never heard of its name. The reason maybe that there is no existence of a place called Bhushna in Bangladesh now.

Bhushna Fort is a medieval fort of Bengal. It is located at present-day Killabari village in Madhukhali upazila of Faridpur district.

During Mughal rule, Bengal was divided into a number of administrative units called parganas. Bhushna was one of them. The Mughal emperor assigned a faujdar (military commander) for each unit. According to historical records, Abu Torab was a faujdar of Bhushna. Meanwhile, Subedar Shaista Khan gave Sitaram Roy a jagir (fief) in Bhushna pargana.

Apart from building the fort, Raja Sitaram had a number of dighis (water reservoirs) built all around his fiefdom. A clever policy taken by Sitaram was a very unusual one. He realised that if he tried to recruit soldiers in daylight, then he would be suspected by the Mughals. So, he employed labourers for digging the dighis. He used to select his soldiers from the workers. He continued with digging dighis in the daytime and training up his soldiers at night, around the dighis.

As a part of establishing a strong defence system, Sitaram brought in experts from Mohammadpur and had them make huge canons. Sitaram’s fiefdom spread from the north bank of the Padma River to the Bay of Bengal in the south. As soon as he was done with his preparations, Raja Sitaram Roy declared himself an independent king. He also warned Abu Torab that he would not pay any taxes to the Nawab of Delhi. In 1699 AD, Abu Torab was defeated and killed by Sitaram’s forces.

That was the first major victory of Raja Sitaram against the Mughals. After this incident, Nawab Murshid Quli Khan sent forces against Sitaram. Other zaminders of Bengal, who were hostile towards Sitaram, also joined the Nawab’s forces. Sitaram marched forward with his troops. In the ensuing battle, the Mughal army surrounded the fort of Bhusna and Sitaram sensed it would be difficult to hold on to both forts at Bhushna and Mohammadpur. He evacuated most of the civilian population from the fort and sent his family to Calcutta (now Kolkata). After defending the fort for a long time, Sitaram was captured and Bhushna fell. Dayaram escorted him in chains to Murshidabad. At the trial, Sitaram was sentenced to death by Murshid Quli Khan and his relatives were imprisoned for life. His final rites were performed on the banks of the Ganges in Murshidabad.

Although the fort area is almost in ruins now, a few things still remain there that caught my sight. My findings conclude that the fort was enriched with moats, on both its inner and outer sides. Due to extensive cultivation, only parts of the ramparts are still standing there. Inside the fort, I found a mound strewn with brickbats. The foundation of an old mosque still can be seen. On that foundation, a mosque of corrugated tin has been constructed recently. A feeling of mystery arose when I found an old, abandoned brick well, some 30m northeast of the mosque, and a brick water reservoir near the well. A short distance to the west of the mosque, there is a low mound which is the grave of Abu Torab, the military commander of Bhushna.

Knowing the history of the fort, it felt hard to accept its unfortunate present state. Most of the bricks of the historical fort have been taken away and the removal process continues to this day. There is no doubt that the fort will completely be lost in the near future.

Reference: Forts and Fortifications in Medieval Bengal by Ayesha Begum (2013);   Archaeological Survey Report of Greater Faridpur District by Md Abul Hashem Miah, DOA, (2000); and History of Greater Faridpur (2011); Raja Sitaram Roy, Kolkata (1313 BS).