The Fort of Emperor Salim lies adjacent to the Red Fort that lies next to Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi and was made a part of its complex. It was constructed in 1546 AD on an Island on the Yamuna River by Salim Shah Suri who was the son of Emperor Sher Shah Suri and hence named after him. The entrance gate on the northern side was however constructed in 1854 AD by Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar who was the last Mughal Emperor and named as the ‘Bahadur Shah Gate’ after him.

The Salimgarh Fort was meant to be a part of the Red Fort Complex and connected to each other via the Bahadur Shah Gate but somehow that did not work. It had also once housed and protected Princess Zebunnisa who was the daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb during the 1857 uprising and Emperor Humayun had also stayed here for three days before he launched a successful attack to recapture Delhi. During the British rule, the Fort was also converted into a Prison where the British Army had imprisoned the Indian Freedom Fighters and today, the Fort has been renamed as the ‘Swatantra Senani Smarak’. The authorities have placed a huge placard over the entrance gate to reflect this change.