Shivagadhi Fort : Where the British Army could not Defeat Nepali Warriors

Shivagadhi Fort Nepal British War

Shivagadhi Fort : The History

Shivagadhi Fort, The British, who were running the East India Company government by colonizing India, were also keeping an eye on Nepal. He was also attacking different parts from time to time. In the same order. In 1871/1872, the British army came to occupy the western region of Nepal.

According to historian Nirmal Shrestha, the East India Company government, which was expanding trade and business in India, needed easy access to China and suitable land for tea cultivation. Such land was only within Nepal. “The company government realized that the land could not be easily acquired from Nepal, so it started looking for points of contention with Nepal, including the Butwal and Suraj (Shivraj) sections,” says Shrestha. Butwal is in Rupandehi and Suraj is in Shivagadhi Fort , Kapilvastu district.

That Fight of Shivagadhi Fort

The issue of Butwal and Swaraj was raised and on November 1, 1814, the British declared a unilateral war against Nepal. Major General John Suleiman Udd was deployed with 1,000 British troops and 3,000 Indian troops to attack the Butwal area,Shivagadhi Fort.

The British had sent troops to invade western Nepal under the leadership of General Akterloni, capture Garhwal through Dehradun under the leadership of Major General Gillespie, capture Palpa-Butwal under the leadership of General Ud and capture Makwanpur under the leadership of General Marle.

The British army led by General Udak had advanced towards Nepal from Gorakhpur to capture Butwal. When the British army reached Jitgadhi, there was a fierce battle with the Nepal Army. The British team had returned after suffering heavy losses in the war.

Three months later, General Udkai led an attack on Butwal, Shivagadhi Fort. The palace was destroyed by the attack. Even though the palace was destroyed, the Nepalese army hiding inside the fort attacked the British. In this battle also, the Nepal Army defeated the British army.

According to historian Shrestha, the army led by Colonel Ujirsingh Thapa had defeated the British army at Jitgadhi fort on 7 April 1872.The Nepali army had defeated the British at Shivgadhi fort in Kapilbastu.

Ignored Historical Sites

Jitgadhi fort is connected to Tinau river in Butwal sub-metropolis-2 of Rupandehi while Shivgadhi fort  is in the north chure area of ​​Shivraj municipality of Kapilvastu. However, these sites of historical pride have not been properly protected.

Jitgadhi fort has recently been surrounded by normal fences. The fort has been cordoned off by the Butwal Sub-Metropolitan Municipality since the day the Nepal Army started celebrating the defeat of the British on April 22 for two years. Before that, cattle were grazed in this place.

A 9-foot-tall full-length statue of Ujir Singh Thapa and a 42-foot national flag of Nepal have been placed in Shivagadhi Fort . Mayor of Butwal Sub-metropolis Shiva Subedi says that Jitgadhi area will be developed as a tourist destination by constructing a master plan. “There are plans to build a wartime museum, a collection of cannons used in the war at the time, and a statue of nine soldiers who were martyred during the war,” he said.

To thwart the British plan to capture the Butwal-Suraj region, the Nepal Army used the fort to fight in the western Suraj region. The so-called Swaraj area is located in the Krishnanagar-Chandrauta corridor, about 300 meters west of Bahadurganj Bazaar. The Nepal Army has built a park here only two years ago.

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