Madhya Pradesh: Gond Forts In Need Of Facelift, Conservation

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh needs to conserve and protect 52 forts built by Gond rulers in different parts of the state to make way for their inclusion in UNESCO world heritage list along the lines of Maharashtra. Maharashtra has got 12 Maratha forts included in the list recently.

Most Gond forts are in a pathetic state for want of maintenance and conservation. Archaeologists and historians say MP’s Gond heritage is unique in the country. Nowhere else did tribal kings rule over such a vast area as in Madhya Pradesh. And the forts built by them are the only tangible remains of great kingdom of Gondwana.

The area between Narmada and Godavari river was ruled by four powerful Gond dynasties for 400 years from the middle of 14th century to middle of the 18th century. In this land, four independent Gond kingdoms arose more or less simultaneously.

Most of Gondwana is now a part of Madhya Pradesh with a small area falling in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Sangram Shah, Shankar Shah, Raghunath Shah, Rani Durgavati and Rani Kamlapati were among key Gond rulers.

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Of the 52 Gond forts in the state, only three Upathgarh (at Islamnagar or Jagdishpur near Bhopal), Chaugan or Chauragarh (near Gadarwara in Narsinghpur district) and Ginnorgarh (in Ratapani Tiger Reserve in Raisen district) are protected by state archaeology department. A few others including Kamlapati Mahal in Bhopal, Madan Mahal in Jabalpur, Lanjhi in Balaghat district and Deograh in Chhindwara are under ASI protection.

The rest are unprotected. Many are crumbling for want of maintenance. Some like Rani Mahal in Badi in Raisen district have been encroached upon. A school runs inside Rani Mahal and many families reside there. According to KW Shah, a descendent of Gond ruler Rani Kamlapati, the protected monuments are not actually protected. “The Ginnorgarh fort has been dug up by treasure hunters,” he said.

Even basic maintenance like building an approach road and posting a watchman have not been done. “If a detailed conservation plan is drawn and Gond heritage is promoted, Gond forts can be pitched for inclusion in UNESCO World Heritage list,” said superintending archaeologist, ASI, Jabalpur circle, Shivakant Bajpai.

In fact, urgent repairs are needed. “Many forts have already been reduced to ruins and there are some, which are beyond renovation,” says Ahmed Ali, an archaeologist from Directorate of Archaeology and Museums.

Shah said Gond rulers were largely ignored by Indian historians. “They did not even write the history of Gond kingdoms. It was British historians who researched and wrote about Gond kings and queens and their rule,” he added.