UNESCO is a focused organisation under the United Nations. It encourages global harmony and security through universal partnerships in education, art, science, and culture. In the field of culture, this is achieved through the recognition, safeguarding, and conservation of cultural and natural assets throughout the world. This is done by designating UNESCO World Heritage sites globally.
The Hill forts of Rajasthan
Six mighty forts are included as part of this series. The forts are situated in Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Jhalawar, Jaipur and Jaisalmer. The diverse planning of the forts is a testament to the supremacy of the Rajput kingdoms that thrived in these provinces between the eighth to eighteenth centuries. Major urban centres, palaces, commercial centres, and other structures, including temples, are enclosed inside defensive walls, that sustain a complex courtly culture that encourages learning, music, and the arts. The forts use the natural defences offered by the landscape: hills, deserts, rivers, and dense forests.
Physiographic
The forts are designed and optimised for a variety of hill terrains, including the peaks and slopes of semi-arid hills, forested hills, desert hills, and water-protected hills. The adaptation and utilisation of the locations involve numerous factors, including military matters, strategic planning, and water collection, storage, and distribution.
Centres of power
Forts have significant correlations as centres of Rajput authority and control, Rajput courtly culture and patronage, and ancient centres of study, art, and music. The forts, palaces, and other buildings they house, exemplify Rajput architecture’s strength and culture. The Rajput style’s lexicon of architectural forms and ornamentation is quite similar to those of other regional styles, such as Sultanate and Mughal architecture, therefore calling it ‘unique’ may be an overstatement. However, the eclectic nature of Rajput architecture (taking inspiration from antecedents and neighbours) and its degree of impact on following regional forms (such as Maratha architecture) distinguish it.
Sacred
It was discovered that many, if not all, of the selected locations feature temples or other religious buildings, not just as additions to palaces and other towns, but frequently predate and outlive them in usage. The fact that Rajput hill forts are also religious locations was considered another distinguishing quality.
Urban Settlements
Most forts were built to safeguard the whole population, not just the court and military guard. Most had large villages within the boundaries, some of which have survived to the current day. These domestic and spiritual features went beyond the traditional military duties of fortifications. In other cases, there was also a mercantile component, since the forts were centres of production, distribution, and commerce that were the source of their prosperity.
Criteria of Nomination
There are ten criteria used by UNESCO to choose sites on the World Heritage list. A site should meet at least one of these requirements. This site meets two requirements.
The Hill Forts of Rajasthan demonstrate an essential interchange of Princely Rajput ideals in fort planning, art, and architecture from the early to late mediaeval periods, throughout Rajasthan’s diverse physiographic and cultural zones. The six huge hill forts are architectural representations of Rajput valour, courage, monarchy, and cultural traditions, as attested in many historical writings and artworks from India’s mediaeval and late mediaeval periods. Their elaborate fortifications, built to protect not only garrisons for defence but also palatial buildings, temples, and urban centres, as well as their distinct Rajput architecture, are exceptional testaments to the ruling Rajput clans’ cultural traditions and patronage of religion, arts, and literature in Rajasthan for several centuries.
The Hill Fort of Chittorgarh
It covers 305 hectares of land, with a buffer zone of another 440 hectares. It is situated on the eastern border of the city of Chittorgarh, on top of a high mountainous extension of the Aravallis, about 609 metres above sea level. The property has a perimeter of approximately 4.5 km. The fort consists of around 65 historic buildings and a few ruins. It comprises 10 gates and entrances, 4 palace complexes, 19 significant temples, 4 memorials (including the Victory Tower), 20 engaged water bodies, and 7 small buildings.
Kumbhalgarh Fort
It is located in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district and covers around 268 hectares of land, with a buffer zone of an additional 1338 hectares. The buffer zone is part of the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary. Rana Kumbha was principally responsible for building the fort, which covered an area of 11 square kilometres and had fort walls and bastions.
The fort is accessed via a succession of protective walls and defensive constructions, including successive battlements and bastions. A palace, multiple temples, horse stables, and other structures were erected inside the high and broad fortress walls and powerful bastions.
Ranthambore Fort
It is situated at the summit of Thambhor Hill. It is located on the border of Ranthambore National Park’s dense forest. The reserve forest is located at the intersection of the Aravali and Vindhya ranges of mountains. The property has roughly 102 hectares of land space.
The buffer zone comprises all of the hills on which the fort stands, as well as the neighbouring water bodies of Padam Talav, Malik Talav, and Raj Bagh. Overhanging cliffs, jagged rocks, and deep forests create natural hurdles to an invading force. The Ranthambore monarchs constructed a road of steep paved ramps, a narrow and serpentine path, and a lengthy flight of stairs obstructed at places by four formidable gates.
Gagron Fort
It is located approximately 10 km from Jhalawar on the summit of the Vindhya hill range, flanked on three sides by the Ahu and Kali Sindh rivers. The land within the fortress is 23 hectares in size, with a 722-hectare buffer zone surrounding it, which includes the neighbouring hills and the river bend on the fort’s northern side. There is a double layer of fortification. The river served as a constant water source, and there were two clusters of five wells each within the fortress. The site includes gates, kunds, temples, and palaces.
Amber Fort
It stands in a valley created by a series of Aravallis known as the Kalikho Hills and is situated on a hill below Jaigarh’s connecting fort. It covers around 30 hectares of land and includes the whole town of Amber, which is located in the valley below the fort. The water system, which includes lifts, the lake with its Kesar Kyari, hammams (baths), and fountains, is a unique element of the palace. The palace complex is built in a linear pattern along an approximate north-south axis. The fort is a great example of how terrain has been combined with traditional Indian architectural components such as courtyards, pavilions, and transitions.
Jaisalmer Fort
It is located in district Jaisalmer in Rajasthan State and has roughly 8 hectares of land space. It is located on Trikuta Hill, 76 metres above the surrounding plain. The Jaisalmer Fort is roughly 1500 feet north-south and 750 feet east-west. The fort is home to various temples, residential homes, and the palace complex, which serves as the focal point. The majestic, beautiful, and finely carved front façade not only adds visual value but also evokes memories of the golden regal age, when all courtly noblemen lived within the fort grounds.
The six hill forts not only represent an essential stage in the development of an architectural typology based on proven “traditional Indian principles,” but also serve as unique testaments to Rajput cultural traditions. The rich living traditions and belief systems, as well as their associations with the built fabric of these forts, distinguish them and make them worthy of inclusion on the World Heritage list.
Citation:
Archaeological Survey of India (2013) Nomination of Hill Forts of Rajasthan for inclusion on World Heritage List, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/247/ (Accessed: 26 May 2024).
Hill forts of Rajasthan (2013) UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/247/ (Accessed: 26 May 2024).
Heritage for peace (no date) UNESCO.org. Available at: https://www.unesco.org/en (Accessed: 26 May 2024).
