'Pratapgad' in Thane, not just Satara; Did you know about 'Pratapgad 2.0'?

Mumbai, Oct 4: When one goes through Maratha history, particularly the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the fort of 'Pratapgad' holds immense significance. Today, when Chh. Shivaji Maharaj's Wagh Nakha are making headlines, the episode of Pratapgad in Maratha history is being widely read again. But there is another 'Pratapgad' located in Maharashtra's Thane district, which is not much popular.

 

 

 

 

In the most recent happening, a Pune-based history researcher has identified a second 'Pratapgad Fort' located in the Thane district of Maharashtra. According to reports, while explaining how he identified the other Pratapgad Fort from authentic Peshwa Daftar documents in the 'Modi script' at the Pune Archives, Memane said “I am currently doing research on the forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and there are hundreds of documents in the Modi script related to these forts, their construction details, what material was used, who built them and when etc."

 

 

He further said, "While going through these rare documents around a month ago, I came across one of the documents in which I found that between 1720 and 1750, this Pratapgad Fort might have been built. In several documents, four forts are mentioned, namely Mahuli, Palasgad, Bhandardurg and Pratapgad. Till now, the Mahuli range was believed to have three forts but now, one more fort named Pratapgad has been identified in this range.”

 

“There were various establishments on this Pratapgad Fort which include a gadhi also known as wada, one kacheri (office), and one buruj which was rebuilt when it became old. Also, the temple on this fort is mentioned as the Yedkai Devi Temple. Hence, the conclusion of this research is that certainly, Mahuli is a range of four and not three forts. We are now going to visit the fort to identify the exact location as our research is still underway,” Memane said.

 

 

According to EXCLUSIVE reports of Hindustan Times, Mandar Lawate, a prominent city-based historian, said, “This is important research done by Memane as till today, the exact details of the Mahuli fort and this name of Pratapgad Fort was unknown to everyone. Memane, through his research, has brought it to light along with micro details of the establishments on this fort so it is important research.”

 

 

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj capturing Pratapgad through the Afzal Khan episode, was historic in itself. The way Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj defended himself from Afzal Khan's attack, even today, speaks volume of the Maratha ruler's intelligence and presence of mind to tackle such situations. Besides, the aspect of internal politics among the Marathas also plays a key role in the incident, as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who lacked the support of other Marathas for the establishment of Hindvi Swarajya, such as Wai's Chandrarao More, left a precedent for such Marathas and portrayed 'Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj' as a people's leader.

 

 

 

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