ISLAMABAD: Google marked Pakistan's Independence Day on Saturday with a doodle featuring the iconic medieval Derawar Fort, a large square fortress in the Cholistan Desert, south of Bahawalpur.
On Aug. 14, 1947, Pakistan achieved independence from British colonial rule when Britain partitioned the country into two independent dominions, Muslim Pakistan and majority Hindu India.
"Today’s Doodle celebrates Pakistan Independence Day, a public holiday commemorating the day on which the nation became a sovereign republic. Pakistanis across the subcontinent join to celebrate their freedom and honor the centuries of history that comprise its cultural foundation," Google said in a statement on Saturday.
This undated file photo shows the historical Derawar Fort in the Cholistan Desert, south of Bahawalpur, Pakistan. (Shutterstock/File)
The massive fortress is a square structure built with clay bricks, consisting of 40 forty circular bastions, ten on each side, which stand 30 meters high and are visible across the desert for many miles. Its walls have a perimeter of 1,500 meters.
It was built in the 9th century by a Hindu Rajput ruler Rai Jajja Bhatti. In the 18th century, it was taken over and rebuilt by Muslim Nawabs of Bahawalpur, with whom it remained until the 1970s.
"The Mughal-style forts once facilitated trade and transportation in a largely inhospitable environment. The forts served as critical infrastructure for both the protection and nourishment of desert caravans on their journeys across Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent," Google said.
"Happy Independence Day, Pakistan!"
