New Findings in Pune Archives Confirm Mirgad and Songiri Forts are Distinct Structures

Pune, 27th August 2024: Until now, it was believed that Mirgad in Pen Taluka of Raigad District was Songiri. This belief has now been proven to be completely false, as Songiri and Mirgad are two different forts. This conclusion is supported by documents in Modi script found in the Peshwa Office archives in Pune. History researcher Raj Memane conducted thorough research that uncovered this information.

Mirgad, also known as Mruggad, was previously known as Sarasgad and is now located in Pali Taluka of Raigad District. The second fort, Songiri, was formerly known as Avachitgad. It has been observed that the locations of these two forts, both current and historical, are different.

Apart from this, Memane stated that numerous documents indicating that these two forts are different have been found in the Pune Archives. A Research Essay Meeting was recently organized at Bharatiya Vichar Sadhana Hall, where Memane presented his research. History scholar Vidyacharan Purandare, Nana Fadnavis’s descendant Ashok Fadnavis, and others were present at the meeting. During this session, Memane presented various documents and photographs of the forts and provided detailed information about them.

The earliest mention of these two forts is found in a document dated 1739 AD. Later, between 1739 and 1792, both forts started collapsing. Following that, the Siddhi people from the Janjira Sea Fort taluka began causing trouble to the forts. According to the document, Sardar Baburao Pasalkar informed the Peshwas that these two forts needed to be rebuilt. Documents related to the construction indicate that the forts were rebuilt in the Marathi month of Chaitra in 1793 AD, following orders from the Peshwas.

Providing information about this, History Researcher Raj Memane said, “Two distinct documents regarding Songiri and Mirgad forts have been found in the Peshwa Office. These documents reveal that the two forts are not the same but are indeed different. Therefore, the earlier claim that these two forts are the same is completely incorrect. They are separate and distinct forts.”