

Located along the Grand Trunk Road (NH 44) in
southern Phillaur in Jalandhar district of Punjab, this site originated as a
Mughal-period sarai (rest house), likely established in the early seventeenth
century and associated with Shah Jahan’s reign (r. 1628-1658). In the early
nineteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh converted the sarai into a fortified
complex by adding defensive walls, bastions, and a ditch, transforming it into
what is now known as Phillaur Fort. The monument was notified as protected by
the Archaeological Survey of India in 2010 and presently houses the Maharaja
Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy. Only limited elements of the original sarai
survive, notably the Lahori and Delhi gateways, while later Sikh-period and
subsequent adaptations dominate the existing fabric.