News Excerpt:

India has nominated the “Maratha Military Landscapes”, a network of forts that showcase the strategic military powers of Maratha rule, for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage list for 2024-25.

More details about the news:

• The 12 components of this nomination are the forts of Salher, Shivneri, Lohagad, Khanderi, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala, Vijaydurg and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu.
•  Maharashtra has more than 390 forts out of which only 12 forts are selected under the “Maratha Military Landscapes”. Eight of these are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) while four are protected by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Maharashtra.
• The “Maratha Military Landscapes” is the sixth cultural property nominated for inclusion in the World Heritage List from Maharashtra and had been earlier included in the Tentative List of World Heritage sites in 2021.

Maratha Military Landscapes:

Historical significance

• The “Maratha Military Landscapes”, which developed between the 17th and 19th centuries. represent an extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers.
• The inception of Maratha military ideology dates back to the 17th century during the reign of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 1670 and continued through subsequent rules until Peshwa rule until 1818.

Geographical diversity

• They are distributed across diverse geographical and physiographic regions and showcase the strategic military powers of the Maratha rule.
• 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.

Three criteria for nomination

1. To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or civilization that is living or has disappeared.
2. To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble, or landscape that illustrates significant stages in human history.
3. To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas or beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance.