To showcase the history of Maratha Empire and boost tourism, the Maharashtra government is planning to seek UNESCO ‘world heritage site’ status for the forts in the State, a Minister said here on Saturday.
Maharashtra Education and Culture Minister Vinod Tawde said, “A proposal drafted by a team of experts will be sent to UNESCO’s heritage site committee in the next one year through the Union Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Archaeological Survey of India.”
“Our forts are a great legacy of the Maratha Empire, and the glorious history of all these forts needs to be put on the world map. In order to do that, we are keen to seek UNESCO world heritage site status for our forts,” he said.
A UNESCO tag, will also boost tourism, he said.
Mr. Tawde, along with Shikha Jain, who is senior consultant to the Ministry of Culture, and member secretary of Advisory Committee on World Heritage Matters Shikha Jain, and Shrimant Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje, visited Shivneri, Panhala, Raigad, Rajgad, Torna forts. They also took an aerial view of sea forts, Murud and Janjira, in the past two days.
Jain, who was also present at the press conference, said that they are planning to send serial nominations for these forts.
“Like the forts in Rajasthan, which tell the story of the Princely State, even the forts in Maharashtra tell the story of the Maratha Empire,” she said. “All these forts here are connected historically, and while sending the proposal, the story line of Maratha Empire, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s military techniques, will be the added advantage,” she said.
Ms. Jain said that the process to get the heritage status is long-winding, and may take three years.
Mr. Tawde said that the guerrilla warfare technique used by Shivaji Maharaj, is the topic for research in foreign universities, and despite that the footfall of foreign tourists is not up to the mark at these forts. —PTI
