Ahmednagar Fort

The Ahmednagar Fort is located in the heart of the city of Ahmednagar,[1] Maharashtra.[2] It was the headquarters of the Ahmednagar Sultanate. In 1803 it was taken by the British in during the Second Anglo-Maratha War. Later it was used by the British Raj as a prison. Currently the fort is under the administration of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. The fort was built by Malik Shah Ahmed (after whom the city of Ahmednagar is named) in 1427 CE.[4] He was the first sultan of the Nizam Shahi dynasty and he built the fort to defend the city against invaders from neighbouring Idar.[4] Initially it was made of mud but major fortification began in 1559 under Hussain Nizam Shah. It took four years and was finally finished in 1562.[5] In 1596, Chand Bibi the queen regent successfully repulsed the Mughal invasion but when Akbar attacked again in 1600 the fort went to the Mughals.[5][6] Aurangzeb died at Ahmednagar fort at the age of 88 on February 20, 1707.After Aurangzeb's death the fort passed to the Marathas and later the Scindias. During the period of instability in the Maratha Empire following the death of Madhavrao II, Daulat Scindia had the fort and its surrounding region ceded to him. In 1797, he imprisoned Nana Phadanvis the Peshwa diplomat at Ahmednagar fort.[7] In 1803 during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, Arthur Wellesley defeated the Maratha forces and the East India Company came into possession of the fort. It was used by the British Raj as a prison and this was were Jawaharlal Nehru, Abul Kalam Azad, Sardar Patel and other members of Indian National Congress were jailed for almost three years after they passed the Quit India Resolution.[8][9] Jawaharlal Nehru wrote his popular book the Discovery of India- while he was imprisoned at Ahmednagar fort.[6][9][10]

Currently the fort is under the administration of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army.[9]
Sindhudurg fort is a fortress which occupies an islet in the Arabian Sea, just off the coast of Maharashtra in western India. The fortress lies on the shore of Malvan town of Sindhudurg District in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, south of Mumbai. Sindhudurg was built by the great Maratha warrior King Shivaji in 1664. Shivaji selected the strategic rocky island location, then known as 'Kurte' for the fort, himself - to counter foreign forces, and to keep the nearby Siddis of Murud-Janjira in check. One of the best preserved forts of the Marathas, Sindhudurg fort has zigzag rampart with 42 bastions. Apart from the huge stones, the building material involved 2000 khandis (72,576 kg) of iron erecting the massive curtain wall and bastions. A notable feature is that the foundation stones were laid down firmly with 5 khandis (181.5 kg) of molten lead. There is a hidden passage (that starts in a temple that looks like a water reservoir) that goes under the island for 3 km, under the sea for 12 km, and from there 12 km to a nearby village. The tunnel was used as an escape route for the women if the enemy entered the fort. However, the British partially closed this passage after the fort was abandoned A handprint and a footprint of Shivaji Maharaj is also embedded in one section of the fort. There is also Atmeshwar Mandir, a famous Shivling, and is beautiful place for adhyatmik sadhana (spiritual activities).

Shivneri Fort is a historic military fortification located near Junnar. It is the birthplace of Shivaji.[1] Shivaji was born at the fort on 19 February 1630, and spent his childhood there.he got his name SHIVBA here. Inside the fort is a small temple dedicated to the goddess Shivai Devi, after whom Shivaji was named. Shivaji Maharaj left this fort in 1632 and it went into the hands of Mughals in 1637. Though Shivaji was born here, he had to surrender the fort to the Mughals and could not take it back in his lifetime. One has to get through 7 doors before reaching the actual fort. This fort is a very big structure with a very good height. The old and beautiful 'Devi Shivai' temple is on the way. Shivaji spent his childhood on this fort. He acquired all the skills and training on this fort which he used while establishing Swaraj. He learnt the early lessons of Swaraj on this fort. After the Satavahanas, the Shivneri for was occupied by the Shilaharas, the Yadavas, the Bahamanis and the Mughals. In 1599 AD the hill fort was granted to Shivaji's grandfather, Maloji Bhosale and passed down to Shahaji and after mughals it was under the control of Peshwas. At the centre of the fort is a water pond which is called 'Badami Talav'. To the South of 'Badami Talav' are the statues Jijabai and a young Shivaji. In the fort there are two water springs, namely Ganga-Jamumna, which have water throughout the whole year. Two kilometers away from this fort there are the Lenyadri caves which is one of Ashtavinayaka temple in Maharastra. Sinhagad, Sinhgarh, or Sinhgad (The Lion's Fort), is a fortress located roughly 30 kilometres southwest of the city of Pune, India. It is situated on a hill rising 800 metres above the surrounding countryside. Previously called Kondhana, the fort has been the site of many important battles, most notably the battle of Sinhagad in 1670. It was also strategically located at the center of a string of other forts such as Rajgad, Purandar and Torna. Perched on an isolated cliff of the Bhuleswar range of the Sahyadri Mountains, its height above sea-level is 1350 metres. Given natural protection by its very steep slopes, the walls and bastions were constructed at only key places; it has two gates the Kalyan Darwaza in the south-east and the Pune Darwaza in the north-east. Shivaji gained control of sinhagarh (Kondana) in 1647. In 1649, it had to be handed over to Adil Shah for Shahaji Maharaj's release. Shivaji Maharaj recaptured it back in 1656 again with the help of Bapuji Mudgal Deshpande,who convinced Fort commander by giving land in newly created Shivapur[disambiguation needed] village and peacefully gained control of fort. It was then again conquered by Marathas in 1706 from Aurangzeb and fort remained with Maraths till 1818, when the British conquered it. British however took three months to capture this fort highest time ever for them to win any fort in the Maharastra. Pratapgad (also transcribed Pratapgarh or Pratapgadh) is a large fort located in Satara district, in the state of Maharashtra in India. Pratapgad is located 15 kilometres from Poladpur and 22 kilometres from Mahabaleshwar, a popular hill-station in the area. This fort stands 1,080 metres above sea level. [1]. The Maratha king Shivaji commissioned Moropant Trimbak Pingle, his prime minister, to undertake the construction of this fort in order to defend the banks of the Nira and the Koyna rivers, and to defend the Par pass. It was completed in 1656. History was created at this fort when Chatrapati Shivaji met with Afzal Khan, the Sardar of Bijapur. It was the site of the famous battle between the Maratha chieftain Chhatrapati Shivaji and Afzal Khan, the commander of the Bijapur Sultanate. Afzal Khan was killed and his mighty army routed by the Marathas. In 1818, as part of the Third Anglo-Maratha War, Pratapgad surrendered by private negotiation. This was a great loss to the Maratha forces, as Pratapgad was an important stronghold, had a large garrison, and could annoy much of the country round Wai.