The Ministry of Culture introduced that the ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’ will likely be India’s on Monday nomination for recognition as UNESCO World Heritage List for the 12 months 2024-25 on Monday.
“The twelve component parts of this nomination are Salher fort, Shivneri fort, Lohgad, Khanderi fort, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala Fort, Vijay durg, Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu. These components, distributed across diverse geographical and physiographic regions, showcase the strategic military powers of the Maratha rule,” the press launch by the Ministry of Culture learn.
“The Maratha Military Landscapes of India, which developed between 17th and 19th centuries, represent an extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers. This extraordinary network of forts, varying in hierarchies, scales and typological features, is a result of integrating the landscape, terrain and physiographic characteristics distinctive to the Sahyadri mountain ranges, the Konkan Coast, Deccan Plateau and the Eastern Ghats in the Indian Peninsula,” it additional mentioned.
According to the Ministry of tradition, “There are more than 390 forts in Maharashtra out of which only 12 forts are selected under the Maratha Military Landscapes of India, of these eight forts are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. These are Shivneri fort, Lohgad, Raigad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala fort, Vijaydurg, Sindhudurg and Gingee fort whereas Salher fort, Rajgad, Khanderi fort and Pratapgarh are protected by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Maharashtra. 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 inception of the Maratha Military ideology dates again to seventeenth Century throughout the reign of the Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj by the 1670 CE and continued by means of subsequent guidelines till Peshwa rule until 1818 CE. There are six standards (i to vi) for cultural websites and 4 standards (vii to x) for pure websites for inclusion within the World Heritage List.
The Maratha Military Landscapes of India is nominated underneath criterion (iii): To bear a singular or not less than distinctive testimony to a cultural custom or to a civilization that in residing or which has disappeared, criterion (iv): to be an excellent instance of a sort of constructing, architectural or technological ensemble, or panorama that illustrates vital stage(s) in human historical past and Criterion (vi): To be immediately or tangibly related to occasions or residing traditions, with concepts or with beliefs, with creative and literary works of excellent common significance.
“At present in India there are 42 World Heritage sites, out of which 34 are cultural sites, seven are natural sites whereas one is mixed site. In Maharashtra there are six World Heritage Sites, five cultural and one natural these are, Ajanta Caves (1983), Ellora Caves (1983), Elephanta Caves (1987), Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) (2004), Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai (2018) and western Ghats of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala is serial property in natural category (2012). The Maratha Military Landscapes of India included in the Tentative List of World Heritage sites in 2021 is the sixth cultural property nominated for inclusion in the World Heritage List from Maharashtra,” it mentioned.
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