Belgaum Fort loosing its grandeur

Not all cities have the pleasure of having a fort in their city. Belgaumites have been very lucky to be the capital of a kingdom in the past.

The Belgaum fort built in 13 century (Originally built by the Ratta dynasty, later fortified by Yakub Ali Khan of the Bijapur Sultanate) was well known for its unique building structure and its huge moat surrounding the fort, which made it inaccessible to the enemies. The Belgaum fort served as a bulwark against the attacks of invading armies. It steadfastly held fort as Belgaum played host to a multitude of dynasties, from the Rattas, the Vijayanagar emperors, Bijapur Sultans, Marathas and finally the British. During the freedom movement of India, Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned here. The Belgaum fort is also an embodiment of the legacy of religious tolerance in Belgaum.

The inside of the Fort area now does not much resemble to how it was then but is clean and the MLIRC has taken great care of a major part. Ram Krishna mission Ashrama and the Kamal Basti are places one should visit. There are a few govt. offices as well; the inner parts are avid but who will take care of the outer walls.

See the photos they are self-explanatory, the weeds grown from top to bottom on all sides and the moat filled with mud over the years in some areas never looks like a moat any more.

The archaeological survey of India is looking after the Kamal Basti but no one is caring about the fort walls. If this condition continues in no time, the whole wall will collapse and fort will have no walls to protect itself.

The worst part no one in the city is raising this issue of protection of historic monuments. The city at this moment is only speaking about the Rs.100 crore special grant and its implementation for development works, but we should also learn to preserve our history for our next generation, or a time will come when our children will ask where is the Fort dad,” I saw on Wikipedia or AAB, Belgaum had a fort?” Then we will tell them, once there were huge walls surrounding the fort, there was moat and so on.

We need to preserve history for the next generation.

Read details about Belgaum fort as described by Mrs GUTHRIE