UNESCO World Heritage Site UPSC 2024-25
‘Maratha Military Landscapes’to be India’s nomination for UNESCO tag.
‘Maratha Military Landscapes’ which represents extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers will be India’s nomination for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage list for the year 2024-25 cycle, according to the Culture Ministry. The ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’ which developed between 17th and 19th centuries, represent an extraordinary fortification and military system and envisioned by the Maratha rulers.
The 12 components of this nominations are- Salher Fort, Raigad, Rajgad,Shivneri Fort,Lohgad,khanderi fort, Pratapgad,Suvarnadurg, Panhala Fort,Vijaydurg and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and Gingee fort in Tamilnadu. These components, distributed across diverse geographical and Physiographic regions, showcase the strategic military powers of the Maratha rule.
This will be India’s nomination for inclusion into the UNESCO World Heritage list for the year 2024-25. 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.
The Maratha military landscapes of India was included in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2021.
In Maharashtra, there are more than 390 forts ,out of which 12 Forts are selected under the ‘Maratha military landscapes of India’ and 8 of these forts are protected by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
The forts under ASI 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.