I am not against the erection of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj memorial in the Arabian sea. It is a matter of pride that such memorial be erected in his memory, as he was a administrative and military genius? He had the foresight to rebuild the lapsed naval legacy and hold away on the Sindhusagar aka arabian sea.
BUT, that said, several of his excellent forts including capital Raigad, first capital Rajgad, Sindhudurg and others are in dilapidated condition. They are a living legacy of the great King without whom India would have been a Talibanic state today.
The forts and surrounding terrain form a great ecosystem and are a great treat for nature and history lovers. Heritage walks could fetch a magnanimous amount of financial resources as well as foreign exchange, but the Center and State governments lack will and determination to execute such programs.
SO, before we go ahead with such a memorial in the sea, the very forts which have witnessed and etched history in their every particle have to be resurrected and made lively again.
On the other hand, the government can go ahead with the proposal of sea memorial and a part of those earnings should go to resurrection of forts and heritage, ultimately resulting in heritage walks and self sustaining forts, giving the forts their own corpus funds in the process.
The myth that forts are white elephant and their restoration not financially viable has to be busted. With fort festivals and heritage walks with history and archaeology experts, the state can earn revenues which can be in turn used to generate employment for local youth and upkeep of forts.
Whether, the sea memorial goes ahead or not, the living memorials that the forts are, should be given preference. The state government responding to a PIL couple of years ago in the Mumbai High Court, had petitioned that the forts were dilapidated due to weather and nature elements, and they were a white elephant with no returns and hence, their upkeep was not possible.
This redundant theory has to be exposed by the Maharashtra’s literary think tank and the government made to see the light.
They are a great source of inspiration for youth of this country and yes, financially viable option for upkeep.
BUT, that said, several of his excellent forts including capital Raigad, first capital Rajgad, Sindhudurg and others are in dilapidated condition. They are a living legacy of the great King without whom India would have been a Talibanic state today.
The forts and surrounding terrain form a great ecosystem and are a great treat for nature and history lovers. Heritage walks could fetch a magnanimous amount of financial resources as well as foreign exchange, but the Center and State governments lack will and determination to execute such programs.
SO, before we go ahead with such a memorial in the sea, the very forts which have witnessed and etched history in their every particle have to be resurrected and made lively again.
On the other hand, the government can go ahead with the proposal of sea memorial and a part of those earnings should go to resurrection of forts and heritage, ultimately resulting in heritage walks and self sustaining forts, giving the forts their own corpus funds in the process.
The myth that forts are white elephant and their restoration not financially viable has to be busted. With fort festivals and heritage walks with history and archaeology experts, the state can earn revenues which can be in turn used to generate employment for local youth and upkeep of forts.
Whether, the sea memorial goes ahead or not, the living memorials that the forts are, should be given preference. The state government responding to a PIL couple of years ago in the Mumbai High Court, had petitioned that the forts were dilapidated due to weather and nature elements, and they were a white elephant with no returns and hence, their upkeep was not possible.
This redundant theory has to be exposed by the Maharashtra’s literary think tank and the government made to see the light.
They are a great source of inspiration for youth of this country and yes, financially viable option for upkeep.
