Maratha Military Landscapes

• As per Ministry of Culture, ‘Maratha Military Landscapes’ representing 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 2024-25 cycle.
• The ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’ was included in the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2021.
• The twelve components of this nomination are— Salher Fort, Shivneri Fort, Lohgad, Khanderi Fort, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala Fort, Vijay Durg, and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, and Gingee fort in Tamil Nadu.
• 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.
• There are more than 390 forts in Maharashtra, out of which only 12 forts are selected under the ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’, and eight of these forts are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
• The inception of the Maratha military ideology dates back to the 17th century during the reign of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj by 1670 and continued through subsequent rules until Peshwa rule till 1818.
• ‘Maratha Military Landscapes’ nomination is in the category of cultural property.

OTHER FACTS

• At present, there are 42 World Heritage Sites in India, out of which 34 are cultural sites, seven are natural sites whereas one is mixed site.
• In Maharashtra, six sites have a UNESCO tag— five cultural and one natural.
• These are
  • Ajanta Caves,
  • Ellora Caves,
  • Elephanta Caves,
  • Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus),
  • Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai, and
  • Western Ghats of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala is serial property in natural category.