The Bara Gazi Toph (cannon) located atop the 14th century fort in Kalaburagi is probably the largest cannon in the world. The fort was built by the founder of the Bahmani Sultanate, Sultan Allauddin Hasan Bahman Shah, between 1327 and 1424.
Rehman Patel, researcher, Indo-Islamic Art of North Karnataka, Mohammad Ayazuddin Patel, national award-winning artist, who recorded the measurement of the cannon recently, said that the cannon mounted on the fort was 29 ft in length, with a circumference of 7.6 ft. It is said to be the largest cannon in the world, they averred.
The cannon, which is made in alloy (Panchdhatu), measures 2 ft in diameter and is 7 inches thick.
Mr. Ayazuddin Patel said that the Bara Gazi Toph cannon is 6 ft larger than the Jagadamba Bhavani Toph located at the Koulas Fort in Nizamabad district in Telangana, which was claimed to be the largest cannon in the world in 2013.
Mr. Ayazuddin Patel said that according to the Guinness Book of World Record, the Tsar Cannon in Russia is the world’s largest cannon. The Jaivana Cannon in Jaipur in India is said to be the 10th largest cannon.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the State Archaeology Department have neglected the largest and deadliest cannon in the world situated at the fort in Kalaburagi.
The ASI should take immediate steps to protect the cannon as a monument and work to get it included in the world record list. An information board with a detailed history of the cannon should be installed at the fort, he added.
