Pune, 12th February 2024: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is intensifying efforts to conserve and maintain forts in Maharashtra, with a specific focus on seven Maratha military forts nominated for the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage tag in 2024–25. Sanjay Kumar Manjul, the additional director general of ASI, made this announcement at the ‘History Literature Festival 2024’ at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics.
The nominated forts – Shivneri, Lohagad, Raigad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala, Vijaydurg, and Sindhudurg – are part of a broader initiative that includes 12 17th-century forts recognized as Maratha military landscapes.
Sanjay Manjul emphasized the outstanding universal value of these forts while acknowledging the challenges posed by environmental changes over the years. Issues such as water percolation due to drainage alterations and the changing fort landscape present formidable hurdles in the conservation efforts.
Arvin Manjul, the regional director of ASI (North), discussed the discovery and significance of Sinauli chariots during the festival. In 2018, ASI unearthed three Sinauli chariots from burial chambers dating back to 2000 BCE. Contrary to previous beliefs, Arvin Manjul highlighted that these chariots, along with antennae swords, ornaments, shields, and daggers, are the oldest ever discovered in the world. The presence of war chariots challenges the Aryan-invasion theory, suggesting that horse chariots were present in the Indian peninsula before the previously suggested Aryan arrival in 1400 BCE.
Sanjay Kumar Manjul emphasized that the evidence now supports the existence of these chariots well before the suggested Aryan arrival, debunking the previously held theory.
