Developments take heavy toll on forts

Once impregnable by military standards, a majority of the forts in Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country, are in ruins.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), which comprises parts of coastal districts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad, has close to three dozen small, medium and big forts.

Mumbai city itself has around a dozen forts. These include forts on land, in sea and on mountains. Added to them are the grid of tunnels and several caves, which are of immense importance because of their historical and heritage value.  These forts also show that geography has influenced history, economics and politics.

The forts  withstood the ravages of time for centuries but commercial development of land and neglect from the authorities are threatening their existence.

Every fort or garrison has its own history and heritage. Some of them are under the jurisdiction of Archaeological Survey of India while many come under the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums of Maharashtra.

The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation is working with various agencies to protect the forts.

The forts in MMR have unique mix with imprints of Marathas, East India Company, British Raj, Portuguese, Mughals, Siddis and provide insight into developments close to five centuries.

On June 6, 2016, coinciding with the 343rd anniversary of the coronation ceremony of Chhatrapati Shivaji at the Raigad fort, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that his government would strive to get them in the Unesco World Heritage Sites List.

It is from Raigad fort that Shivaji laid the foundation of the Hindavi Swaraj and the Britishers had called it the Gibraltar of the East as the well-fortified structure atop a hill had  withstood repeated attacks. It was here that Shivaji built his capital city.

Also, the Maharashtra Government has appointed Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje Bhosale, a descendant of Shivaji and a Rajya Sabha member, as a brand ambassador to promote forts in Maharashtra. The state wants to conserve important forts.

Sambhajiraje said: “The heritage policy shall seek to make efforts to convey that rich historical legacy to the world at large. Like Rajasthan has marketed its historical forts as tourist destinations, the state too intends to showcase the same through its MTDC.”  The government has stated that funds will be earmarked in District Planning and Development Committees for promotion of tourism.

Kurush Dalal,  Deputy Director, Centre for Extra-Mural Studies of the University of Mumbai and INSTUCEN Chandore Excavations, said that fort conservation has to be done systematically and scientifically. “The forts need to be notified. The government must take custody of the forts and remove encroachments and oust people. We all know of the gym inside Worli Fort, we are aware of illegal dwellings inside Mahim Fort,” he said.

The government machinery needs to work with independent experts and agencies. “Wherever conservation is needed it has to be carried out by a conservation architect and not government contractors. There is a way of doing things,” said  Dalal.

He pointed out that “some enthusiastic experts” do more damage in the name of protecting forts and promoting heritage. “In the name of cleaning up tanks, people have made a mess of it. They have removed the stuff that had accumulated over 100  years. This could have been used to reconstruct the history and archaeology of that area,” he said.

“Every fort is unique and it has a story to tell,” says Rafique Baghdadi, a journalist, writer, researcher and film critic. “The government and other agencies need to do something on this,” he added.

 Ajit Joshi, veteran journalist and heritage expert, said that youths have converted some forts into gymnasiums and some are frequented by drug addicts. Besides, people have scribbled their names on the walls and ramparts. “This is a major issue. In fact, once the common man starts going to these forts and shows some interest in heritage, many issues would be addressed automatically,” he said.

The Bombay Castle, which touches the Arabian Sea on the eastern side of south Mumbai, is well protected as it is the headquarters of Western Naval Command. Forts protected  islands of Bombay  at one point in time.

Some of the forts in Mumbai are the Sion Fort, Mahim Fort, Dongri Fort, Worli Fort and the Swree Fort. If one takes into account the western forts – two important forts are the Vasai Fort and Arnala Fort, while in the eastern suburbs are Belapur Fort and Kalyan Fort. Sandwiched between eastern and western suburbs are the ruins of the Ghodbunder Fort. The creeks of Dahanu, Mahim and Dharamtar and rivers like Ulhas, Vaitarna, Tansa, Kundalika and Mithi had contributed for establishment of  forts.

In a paper published by the Maritime History Society-Mumbai, Sudha Srivastava and Dipti Mukherji have pointed out: “The neighbourhood of Mumbai has a fairly large number of forts on the mainlands, headlands and on insular sites. In  the historical past, maritime and coastal trade and power reached great heights primarily dependent on the nature of the coast, taking maximum advantage of the then existing configuration.”

Joshi sounds caution: “In the MMR, there are forts, fortlets, watch towers, hill forts, forest forts, land forts, bastions, coastal forts, island forts, lookout positions….time is ticking fast else these would disappear.”