PLACES OF INTEREST

MALVAN

Malvan [The name Malvan is said to come from the great salt marshes, maha lovan to the east of the town. Mr. G. Vidal, G. S.] (16° 00' N, 73° 25' E; p. 29851), a municipal town formed by 11 villages is the headquarters of the Malvan taluka and a busy minor port. The nearest railway station is Kolhapur, 90 miles to the north-east. In a bay, almost entirely blocked by rocky reefs, there were formerly three small islands, two of them about a quarter of a mile from the shore, and the third separated from the mainland by a narrow channel. On the larger of the two outer islands stands the famous fort of Sindhudurg, and on the smaller, the ruined fort of Padmagad, now, at low tide, connected with the mainland by a neck of sand. On what once was the inner island and is now part of the mainland, lies, almost hid in palms, the old town of Malvan [This inner land was called Medha, but the channel separating it from the main land has been long dried up. This island stretched from a point about a quarter of a mile to the north of the old Residency to the site of the custom house on the south, and in it stood the old fort of Rajkot. The modem town of Malvan has spread far beyond the limits of the former island.]. The dost is very rocky and foul. Abreast the fort, a large ship should not anchor in less than eight fathoms. With a south wind the landing is best in the little bay to the north of Malvan point, and with a north-west wind in the Malvan harbour. On a sunken rock marked with a buoy, a quarter of a mile from the north and of Sindhudurg island, the small steamer Johnston Castle was totally wrecked in 1865 [Taylor's Sailing Directory, 390.]. The course is marked by buoys, and by night is shown by a red light fixed to a boat in the harbour and a green light on shore, which must be kept in one line by ships entering or leaving the port.

Salt for local use and for export is made at the pans to the east of the town. Good pottery is also made from China clay found to the east of the town.

Of the total population of 29,851, according to the Census figures of 1951, the agricultural classes number 5,276 and the non-agricultural classes 24,575. Of the latter, 10,467, persons derive their principal means of livelihood from production other than cultivation; 3,537 persons from commerce; 1,335 persons from transport; and 9,236 persons from other services and miscellaneous sources.

Municipality.

Malvan municipality was established in 1918. It has an area of 2½ square miles and is now governed under the Bombay District Municipal Act, 1901. There are 21 members in the municipal council. Two seats are reserved for women, one seat rotating in ward Nos. 1 to 3 and the other seat in ward Nos. 4 to 6. Besides the managing committee, the municipality has other committees for sanitation, dispensary, market, baug, school and gymnastics.

For the year 1956-57, the total income of the Malvan municipality excluding extraordinary and debt heads amounted to Rs. 2,19,567-1-8, municipal rates and taxes being Rs. 1,90,742-8-10, realisation under Special Acts, Rs. 325-13-6, revenue derived from municipal property and powers apart from taxes, Rs. 11,576-6-2, interest Rs. 184-8-0 grants and contributions, Rs. 15,008-15-2, local funds Rs. 1,443-1-0 and miscellaneous Rs. 285-13-0. The total expenditure incurred during the year 1956-57, excluding extraordinary and debt heads amounted to Rs. 1,66,430-7-9, general administration and collection charges being Rs. 35,855-0-9, public safety Rs. 19,983-9-9, public health and convenience, Rs. 1,01,862-5-6, public instruction Rs. 8,025-0-0, contribution Rs. 35-0-0 and miscellaneous Rs. 669-7-9.

There are no water works. The chief source of water supply is wells. Most of the inhabitants have their own wells which supply them with sufficient water. There is one water sprinkler, owned by the municipality.

Education is compulsory in the town. The District School Board, Ratnagiri, manages primary education, the municipality paying its annual statutory contribution. There are three high schools, one training college for women and a library in the town.

There is one fish market and one vegetable market.

There is one Municipal dispensary, located at Dhurivada, Malvan. Government runs one veterinary dispensary located in Devulvada.

The municipality manages seven cremation grounds. The Muslim and the Christian communities look after their burial places respectively.

Malvan has near the sea-side, a fort named " Sindhudurg " built by Shivaji.

History.

Though its chief interest is the fort of Sindhudurg, Malvan has for long been a place of considerable trade [The similarity of the name Melizigeris, the island of Melis, and the fact that the chief export was pepper (Lessen Ind. Ant. I. 327), would seem to make it probable that Ptolemy's (150) island of Melizigeris, and the Periplus mart of Melizeigara and perhaps Pliny's (77) Zegerus, and Strabo's Sigerdis, were the island-town of, Milandi or Malvan. Later on Ibn Khurdadba (900) mentions Mali, an island five days south of Sanjan in the north of Thana (Elliot, I. 15), and Al Biruni (1030) has Malia south of Saimur, that is Chaul in Kolaba (Elliot, I. 66). The Arab travellers may refer to Malvan or Milandi, but more likely to the Malbar coast. Compare El Idrisi (1150), in Elliot, I. 85.]. In the sixteenth century it. is mentioned as a centre of traffic, with a high road to the Sahyadri hills [Bom. Bov. Sel. New Series, X. 156.]. About the middle of the seventeenth century, when Shivaji fortified Sindhudurg, the creek about a mile and a half north of Malvan was navigable, some miles up to Maland or Milandi, then a place of considerable trade [Nairne's Ms. Dom. Joao de Castro (1538) mentions that at low tide galleys could enter the river of Malundi. Prim Rot. da Costa da India, 22.]. In 1750, under the name Molundi, it is mentioned as a fortified town belonging to Bhonsle, from whom, in 1746, and the two following years, it was taken by the Portuguese Viceroy, Pierre Michael Almeyda, who chased the pirates inland [Tieffenthaler, Res. Hist, at Geog. I. 412.]. In 1765, the English stipulated that they should be allowed to have a factory at Malvan [Grant Duff, 509.]. After its capture by the English in 1766, Malvan on payment of Rs. 3,82,896 for loss and expenses, was restored to Kolhapur [Graham's Kolhapur, 497.]. In 1792, the English again arranged to have a factory at Malvan. Since its cession by the Kolhapur chief (1812), Malvan remained under the British.

Sindhudurg.

The chief object of interest is Shivaji's fortress and coast capital, Sindhudurg, or the Ocean Fort. On a low island about a mile from  the shore, though less striking than Suvarnadurg, it is very extensive [The figure of the fort is highly irregular with many projecting points and deep indentations. This arrangement has the advantage that not a single point outside of the rampart is not commanded from some point inside. South Konkan Forts, 1828.], a little less than two miles round the ramparts. The walls are low, ranging from twenty-nine to thirty feet. [On the sea side so low are the walls that at one place they seem almost below high water level, and inside of the fort are masses of wave-worn rock and stretches of sand. Nairne's MS.] They are on an average twelve feet thick, and have about fifty-two towers from forty to 130 yards apart. The western side of the outer wall is now broken by dashing waves which have caused a breach of 20 feet in it.

The towers are generally outstanding semi-circles with fine embrasures for cannon, within most a flat seat on the parapet, and stones projecting inwards drilled with flag staff holes. Forty-five staircases lead from the inside to the top of the walls. The outer wall is zigzag and was constructed in such a way as to facilitate the attack on the enemy. The entrance is at the north-east corner. [In 1828, the north and east faces were in very fair repair. A few fig trees had here and there made their appearance, but they were of no great size. The state of the west and south faces was deplorable. In no part of either of them was the parapet entire, in most places it had been washed away by the beating of the monsoon so as to leave not above two feet remaining, and in many parts it was destroyed clear away from the level of the ground and the whole of the terreplein or cannon platform was also washed away leaving great blocks of rough stones. A large stretch of the west and smaller parts of the south wall were undermined. It was doubtful if the west wall would stand many years more. In spite of repairs the buildings of the fort were, except the magazine and gateway, in a wretched state almost falling down (Southern Konkan, Forts, 1828). Considerable repairs must have been carried out, as in 1862 the walls and bastions were, with few exceptions, in fair order. There was no garrison, water was abundant and supplies easily obtained. In the fort were nineteen old guns. Govt. List of Civil Forts, 1862.] It was constructed in such a way that it could not be easily detected by the enemy. There is a temple of Maruti near the gate. The area of the fort is forty-eight acres. Once full of buildings, it is now a mere shell with nothing inside but a few small temples of Bhavani, Mahadeo, Jarimai and Mahapurush and Shivaji. [In the 1862 list the area is given at thirty-one acres and it was said to contain thirteen houses, three temples, and one rest-house. Govt. List of Civil Forts.] To the Marathas Sindhudurg is Shivaji's cenotaph [Grant Duff in Nairne's MS.] and in its chief shrine Shivaji's image is worshipped. The temple of Shivaji which is only of its kind in India, is 45 feet in length and 23 feet in breadth. It was constructed in the regime is of Rajaram, the second son of Shivaji (1689-1700). The image is of black stone, and the head is covered with a silver, or, on high days, with a gold mask. This image can in no way be compared with existing images of Shivaji. It is without a beard and has a round face with a sailor's cap on the head on every Monday. In the stone of the walls, prints of Shivaji's hands and feet are held in reverence and protected by small domes. [But for their exceeding smallness these imprints are very accurate representations of a hand and foot. Mr. R. B. Worthington, C. S.] Besides the temple buildings, the fort contains the huts of a few Gabits who have rented from Government the numerous cocoanut palms that grow within the walls. Inside the fort, near the temple stands a solitary adausonia digitata, gorakh chinch tree. The temple or shrine was supported formerly by a yearly cash allowance of Rs. 1,522 assigned, in 1812, by the Kolhapur cheif through his minister Ratnakar Appa. [Nairne's MS. Monday is the chief day for Shivaji's worship and the Kolhapur chief sends turbans and other presents. The shrine is seldom visited by pilgrims and is not honoured by a fair. Mr. G. Vidal, C. S.] The same has been continued by the Government of Maharashtra. Every year fairs are held on the 9th day of Chaitra and on Shiv Jayanti. There are four wells and two tanks of drinking water. There is also a small primary school in the fort.

About the middle of the seventeenth century (1665), failing in his efforts to take Janjira from the Sidi, Shivaji chose Malvan with its rocky islands and roof-blocked harbour as his coast head-quarters. [The difficulty of the harbour entrance, and the care taken in fortifying the land approach raise the belief that Shivaji meant Malvan as a place of refuge should he be brought to extremities. Nairne's MS.] Besides the main fortress on the larger of the outer islands, at which he is said to have worked with his own hands, he fortified the smaller island Padmagad, and on the mainland opposite the town and at the mouth of the creek about a mile and a half north, built the forts of Rajkot and Sarjekot. [Grant Duff, I. 188 and Nairne's MS.] At the time (1713) of the division of Shivaji's dominions between the Kolhapur and Satara families, Malvan fell to the Kolhapur chiefs, and under them became the headquarters of the most active and destructive of the coast pirates. [Grant Duff, I. 188 and Nairne's MS. Of the Malvan pirates Milburn (Oriental Commerce, I. 296) gives the following details: In the seventeenth and early years of the eighteen centuries Malvan was the headquarters of pirates known as Malvanis, a very cruel race, according to Grant Duff, the most active and desperate of all the coast corsairs. None but the Raja fitted out vessels which were of three kinds, galivats, shebars and grabs. The galivat had generally two masts, was decked fore and aft, had square top sails and topgallant sails and was rigged mostly in European fashion. The shebar had also two masts the aftermast and bowsprit very short, no top masts, very little rigging and was not decked. Its largest sail was stretched on a yard of very great length running to a point many feet higher than the mast. They sailed well and were fine vessels in fair weather and smooth water. Many were more than 150 tons burden. The grab had instead of bows, a projecting prow, either two or three masts, and was decked and rigged in European fashion. Vessels of all kinds carried eight or ten small guns and about 100 men. Their favourite rendezvous was at Pigeon Island. They generally went on fifteen-day cruises, the common seaman at starting getting Rs. 2 and the captains Rs. 5. On their return they get grain and Rs. 3 to Rs. 4, or more, according to their rank and good fortune. Prizes were the property of the chief, but unless very well suited for service they were generally released. They sailed with no written commission and with instructions to take any vessel they could master except such as had English colours and passes. Sometimes they seized boats under English protection, evading the open assault by sending on some boats, who, examining the pass, contrived to steal or lose it and make off. Soon after, the rest of the pirates came up and seized the trader. In many cases restitution was demanded by the British Government and made without demur.] About 1710, Hamilton [ New Account, I. 247.] describes the Chief as an independent freebooter who kept three or four grabs to rob all whom he could master. In October 1715, his boats attacked two vessels, in one of which was Mr. Strutt, Deputy Governor of Bombay, but seven shots scared them away [Low's Indian Navy, I. 92.]. In 1730, the pirates of Malvan seized on an English wreck. This caused much dispute, but at last a treaty was concluded with Shankar Pant, the governor and commander-in-chief of Malvan. [Low's India Navy, I. 116.] A British expedition was sent against Sindhudurg. It reduced the fort, and intending to keep it, gave it the name of Fort Augustus. But as it was unprofitable and very hard to dismantle, the fort was given back of to Kolhapur Chief, on his promising not to molest trade, to give security for his future good conduct, to pay the Bombay Government a sum of Rs. 3,82,890 and to let the English establish a factory at Malvan. [Grant Duff, III. 99-100.] In the beginning of the nineteenth century the Malvan pirates were as troublesome to the British as ever. Towards the close of 1812, however, the British succeeded in rooting them out of the coast.

Pandavgad.

Pandavgad, the other island fort, or Padmagad or Ramdurg with an area of one acre, lies about half a mile from the mainland and within a mile of Malvan. This island, where Shivaji used to build ships, half reef, half sand-bank, with ruins and cocoanut palms, is the prettiest part of Malvan. [Nairne's Konkan, 72. It is said to have been once held by Mahars, Govt. List of Civil Forts, 1862.] In 1882, the walls were very ruinous, there was no garrison, and the supply of water was defective. [Govt. List of Civil Forts, 1862.] It is surrounded on all sides by sea. It is said that there was an underground way joining Sindhudurg from this fort. At present (1960), the fort is in ruins.

Rajkot Fort.

Of the two mainland forts Rajkot and Sarjekot, Rajkot Fort stands within the boundaries of the town of Malvan, on rising ground (1,500), surrounded on three sides by the sea. It is on the west side of Malvan. In 1828, Rajkot was a more enclosure of dry stone, open towards the bay and flanked at three corners by towers of cement masonry, then entirely ruinous. Inside it, were several buildings in tolerable repair, and the walls appeared never to have been intended except as a slight protection to them. [Southern Konkan Forts, 1828.] In 1862, the fort was in several places much broken down, there was no garrison and only one gun. [Govt. List of Civil Forts, 1862.] Near it are some buildings of interest, the barracks made in 1812, the old Residency, and probably the factory established about 1792. [The 1755 treaty had a provision for a factory. But as the stipulation was repeated in the 1792 agreement, the factory had probably not till then been started. Grant Duff, 509 in Nairne's Konkan 105.] There is also a look out office of the Central Excise and a flag is kept to signalise the arrival of ships.

Sarjekot Fort.

Sarjekot Fort, about 1¾ miles north of Rajkot in the village of Revandi on the coast, is washed on the north by the sea and protected on the three other sides by a ditch. In 1862, the walls were in bad repair and there was no garrison and no water. [Govt. List of Civil Forts, 1862] At present (1960) there are walls but the outer walls and bastions have fallen.

Mandangad Fort.

Mandangad Fort (Mandangad T.), on the high hill of the same name about 12 miles in land from Bankot has two forts and a triple stockade with an area of about eight acres. [Govt. List of Civil Forts.] Of the three fortifications, Mandangad proper, with two reservoirs which are now filled with earth, lies to the south, Parkot is in the middle and Jamba, with a dry reservoir still in a good condition, on the north. In 1862, the wells were in several places much ruined. [Govt. List of Civil Forts, 1862.] The likeness of the name suggests that Mandangad may be Mandangora, a town of the Konkan coast, as mentioned by Ptolemy (150) and in the Periplus (247). At the same time it seems more probable that Mandangad was on the coast at the mouth of the Bankot creek, on the site of the present villages of Bagmandale and Kolamandale. [Ptolemy's Asia, X; McCrindle's Periplus, 129.] Though they are probably much older, local tradition ascribes Mandangad to Shivaji, Parkot to the Habshi and Jamba to Angre. They were taken by the British in 1818.

The headquarters of the Mandangad, taluka are at Mandangad.

Manohar Fort.

Manohar Fort (Savantvadi T.), 18 miles north-east of Vadi and on the south of the Rangna or Prasiddhgad pass is a solid mass of rock about 2,500 feet high, joined to the Deccan by a narrow ridge about two miles long. It is said to have been fortified since the time of the Pandavas, [Glume's Itinerary, 78.] and in good hands is almost impregnable. Triangular in shape, 440 yards long by 350 broad, it has a single entrance approached by a flight of rock-cut steps and guarded by two gateways.

In the 1844 disturbances, the garrison, gadkaris, of the fort, numbering between 400 and 500 men, espoused the cause of the Kolhapur insurgents. On the night of the 10th October, a band of them entered the house of the subnis of Gothos, and burnt all his public and private papers. On the following night (11th October) a detachment of them, 200 strong, came out of the fort and attacked the detachment of the Savantvadi Local Corps stationed at Dukanvadi. The attack was repulsed, and two days after a British regiment came from Vengurle to strengthen the Dukanvadi post. But with the aid of the Rangna garrison, the Manohar rebels attacked Dukanvadi, and placed the troops there in great peril. Reinforcements were pushed forward from Savantvadi, and Colonel, afterwards Sir James Outram, the Political Agent at Kolhapur, taking the direction of military operations, pressed and harassed the rebels and destroyed their power in the open country. Still, for two months they continued to hold Manohar. About the close of the year 1844, three companies of a British regiment advancing against Manohar, attacked, and after a severe contest drove the enemy from a strongly stockaded post on Targol hill. After this defeat the insurgents abandoned the fort and it was taken (27th January) by the British. When the rebellion was quelled the fortress and its revenues were made over to Vadi. The garrison were allowed to keep their lands on certain conditions, but were declared to have forfeited all money claims; and those who lived in Kolhapur, were forced to quit Vadi, and settle above the Sahyadris.

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