UNESCO accepts Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s ‘Hindavi Swarajya’ for his outstanding universal value : Informs Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadanvis

Mumbai, 14th July – UNESCO has added the 12 forts built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to the World Heritage List and accepted his perception of establishing ‘Hindavi Swarajya’ for the welfare of people as the ‘outstanding universal value’ and all Indians should feel proud about it, informed Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis in the State Legislative Assembly. UNESCO members were impressed with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj building the forts for establishing Hindavi Swarajya for the welfare of his subjects, when his other contemporary kings were building forts for getting control over revenue, stated CM. He was speaking on UNESCO’s adding 12 forts of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, 11 in Maharashtra and 1 in Tamil Nadu, as the ‘Maratha Military Landscape’ to the World Heritage List.

MLAs of all parties were raising slogans of ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki Jai’, ‘Har Har Mahadev’, ‘Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji’, etc, while the CM was giving details of the process of the inclusion of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s forts in the World Heritage List.

Important characteristics of the forts for getting the honour, as narrated by CM

1. Construction in hilly regions

2. Construction is useful for planning military strategies

3. Special types of doors and fortifications

4. Erection of fortresses to hide sites

(Ambassadors from other countries try to know the details of the royal seal or royal stamp of Hindavi Swarajya.)

Ambassadors from many countries sought to understand the royal seal of ‘Hindavi Swarajya’, finding the thoughts engraved on it to be appropriate not only during that period but also applicable and true today. CM said that in the 17th century, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj thought that the people should rule ‘Hindavi Swarajya’ and it should be for the welfare of his subjects; and that makes him an outstanding ruler.

Unanimous nomination

1. On sending the proposal for inclusion in the World Heritage List, the experts from ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) in South Korea examined the proposal from a technical angle.

2. In July 2024, in UNESCO’s 42nd international heritage conference held in Delhi, a delegation from Maharashtra participated and made a presentation on forts.

3. In July 2025, UNESCO’s cultural committee meeting was held in Paris, and voting was conducted on the nominations received from different countries. There were 20 countries to vote in, and all those countries unanimously voted in favour of the nomination of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s forts as world heritage.

Valuable contribution of all

1. The proposal was prepared by Mr Tejas Garge, the Director of the Archaeology Department.

2. Meetings were held in the respective countries that were to vote, and our ambassador to UNESCO was approached and appealed to take the initiative in the matter. A meeting was held of all Indian ambassadors in different countries.

3. CM Devendra Fadanvis personally contacted ambassadors from different countries and appealed to them to vote in favour.

4. CM Fadanvis, Dy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar called on PM Narendra Modi and requested cooperation from the Central Cultural Ministry and Foreign Ministry.

Help to maintain the legacy of our exceptional forts – CM

The goal of getting a nomination for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s forts could be accomplished with the cooperation of all colleagues. Maintaining the nomination is a challenge before us. The people should now help in preserving this exceptional heritage of forts.