Journalism of Courage
This is an archive article published on January 30, 2024
Maratha forts to be India’s nomination for UNESCO World Heritage List
The nomination includes a total of twelve component parts or forts, out of which eight are under the protection of the Archeological Survey of India,
Sindhudurg Fort, one of the twelve components of the Maratha Military Landscapes. (Express archive photo)
The ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’ will be the country’s nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage List for the year 2024-25, the Ministry of Culture announced on Tuesday.
The nomination has a total of twelve components — Salher Fort, Shivneri Fort, Lohagad, Khanderi Fort, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala Fort, Vijay Durg, Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu. Out of these twelve forts, eight are protected by the Archeological Survey of India.
“These components, distributed across diverse geographical and physiographic regions, showcase the strategic military powers of the Maratha rule,” the ministry said in a press release. It further added that the landscapes, developed between 17th and 19th centuries, “represent an extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers”.
“In the Maratha Military Landscapes of India, Salher fort, Shivneri fort, Lohgad, Raigad, Rajgad and Gingee fort are hill forts, Pratapgad is hill-forest fort, Panhala is hill-plateau fort, Vijaydurg is coastal fort whereas Khanderi fort, Suvarnadurg and Sindhudurg are island forts,” the ministry said.
The ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’ had also been included in the ‘Tentative List of World Heritage sites’ in 2021 and is the sixth cultural property nominated for inclusion in the World Heritage List from Maharashtra, as per the press release.
The nomination comes at a time the Maratha community is rejoicing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s recent announcement that they will be given all benefits enjoyed by the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) till they get the reservation. Activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who is spearheading the agitation for reservation for the Marathas since last August, has been demanding Kunbi certificates for all Marathas. Patil off his stir, one among the strikes and many mega marches he has led, on Saturday after the state government said it has accepted his demands.
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