The Riverine Island Fortress: Salim Shah Suri's 1546 Foundation
Perched on what was originally an isolated rocky island in the braided channels of the Yamuna River directly northeast of the Red Fort, Salimgarh Fort holds a unique and somber place in Delhi's architectural and political chronicle. Built in 1546 CE by Salim Shah Suri (son and successor of the visionary Afghan emperor Sher Shah Suri), the fortress was constructed during the brief Suri dynasty interregnum that drove the second Mughal Emperor, Humayun, into Persian exile.
Salim Shah recognized the immense strategic value of the island, which controlled the vital riverine crossing point and river trade along the Yamuna between Punjab and the Gangetic plains. In just five years of intensive construction, Suri engineers enclosed the triangular island with massive battered stone ramparts built of rough-hewn quartzite rubble masonry bound with lime mortar, reinforced by nineteen semicircular projecting bastions.
When Humayun triumphantly invaded India in 1555 to reclaim his throne, he camped within the fortified island of Salimgarh before entering Delhi, renaming the stronghold Nurgarh (Fortress of Light). While the name reverted to Salimgarh in popular parlance, the bastion became an integral defensive outpost guarding Delhi's eastern river flank for successive centuries.
Access via Red Fort Complex & Combined ASI Ticket
Salimgarh Fort is physically linked to the northeastern corner of the Red Fort across an ancient masonry arch bridge over the old Yamuna channel. Visitors access Salimgarh using their standard Red Fort ASI entry ticket (no separate fee required). Follow the pedestrian path leading behind the Hayat Bakhsh Bagh and Shah Burj to reach the historic Bahadur Shah bridge crossing into the island fortress.
The Royal Causeway: Linking Salimgarh to the Red Fort
For over a century after the construction of the Red Fort in 1648, Salimgarh remained separated from the imperial palace by an active channel of the Yamuna River. In 1852, Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II constructed an elegant multi-arched masonry bridge spanning the river channel, formally linking the northeastern perimeter of the Red Fort (near the Shah Burj) directly to Salimgarh.
This brick and sandstone causeway, known as the Bahadur Shah Bridge, transformed Salimgarh into a direct extension of the imperial palace grounds. Royal princes and court nobility used the bridge to access Salimgarh's breezy riverine terraces for recreation, hunting waterfowl in the reed beds, and escaping the claustrophobic summer heat of the crowded walled city.
In the late nineteenth century, British colonial authorities pierced through the western ramparts of Salimgarh to lay the tracks for the East Indian Railway connecting Delhi to Calcutta. While this rail line altered the physical integrity of the fortress, the historic Bahadur Shah Bridge survived intact and serves today as the walking portal for modern visitors.
The Bastion of Shadows: Aurangzeb's State Prison
Beneath its military grandeur, Salimgarh developed a sinister reputation during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb (1658–1707) as the empire's most dreaded high-security state prison. Isolated by deep river currents and surrounded by sheer stone ramparts, it was the place where imperial rivals, disgraced princes, and political prisoners were confined in subterranean cells.
In 1658, Aurangzeb imprisoned his younger brother, Prince Murad Bakhsh, within Salimgarh after tricking him following their joint victory against Dara Shikoh. Murad was held in solitary confinement on the island before being transferred to Gwalior Fort and executed. Later, Aurangzeb imprisoned his own beloved eldest daughter, the brilliant poetess Princess Zeb-un-Nisa, within Salimgarh for twenty-one agonizing years until her death in 1702, punishing her for her secret correspondence with her rebellious brother Prince Muhammad Akbar and her liberal Sufi sympathies.
The fortress's gloomy, subterranean stone cells, with iron ring-bolts embedded in the walls and narrow ventilation slits, still evoke the tragic memories of imperial dynastic intrigue and lifelong confinement.
Uneven Stone Pathways, Remote Precinct & Railway Line Proximity
Salimgarh Fort features rustic, unpaved gravel pathways and uneven stone masonry ramparts; sturdy walking footwear is strongly recommended. The northern section of the fort runs parallel to the active Northern Railway tracks; visitors should remain strictly on marked heritage trails and avoid approaching railway fences or climbing dilapidated stone bastions.
The INA Incarceration & The Indian Freedom Struggle
During the climactic years of the Second World War and India's independence movement, Salimgarh Fort became a sacred theater of anti-colonial resistance. Following the defeat of Japan in 1945, the British colonial army captured thousands of officers and soldiers of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) in Burma and Malaya, transporting them to Delhi for trial.
Hundreds of INA prisoners of war—including legendary leaders Colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal, Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, and Major General Shah Nawaz Khan—were held in high-security detention within the barracks of Salimgarh Fort. British military interrogators subjected the soldiers to rigorous interrogation inside the fort's stone cells before their historic court-martial in the adjacent Red Fort.
The imprisonment of Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh officers together at Salimgarh galvanized unprecedented cross-communal unity and widespread national outrage across India, triggering the Royal Indian Navy mutiny of 1946 and convincing the British government that their military hold over India was permanently broken.
The Swatantrata Senani Smarak & UNESCO Inscription
In recognition of its profound role in India's freedom struggle, the Government of India established the Swatantrata Senani Smarak (Freedom Fighters Memorial Museum) within the restored colonial barracks of Salimgarh Fort. The museum houses poignant exhibits including uniform badges, original photographs, letters, and personal effects of INA soldiers and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
In 2007, when the Red Fort Complex was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Salimgarh Fort was formally included within the inscribed property boundaries, recognizing the symbiotic relationship between Suri military engineering, Mughal causeways, and modern national historical memory.
Today, walking along Salimgarh's weathered stone parapets offers a quiet, contemplative counterpoint to the crowded Red Fort courtyards. Gazing out over the Yamuna floodplain and the passing railway trains, travelers can reflect on five centuries of dramatic history—from Afghan sultans and imprisoned Mughal princesses to the heroic soldiers who helped birth a free democratic republic.
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Connecting Heritage Routes Across Delhi
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