Kos Minar

The Kos Minars (translated: Mile Pillars) are medieval Indian milestones along the Grand Trunk Road in northern Indian subcontinent, that were introduced by the 16th-century Pashtun ruler Sher Shah Suri. Kos Minars were erected to serve as markers of distance along royal routes from Agra to Ajmer, Agra to Lahore, and from Agra to Mandu in the south.

Kos Minar in the National Zoological Park Delhi, India.
Kos minar at Palwal along Grand Trunk Road in Haryana, India; the state has the highest number of surviving Kos Minars.
Kos Minar built with lakhori bricks near the Tomb of Ali Mardan Khan in Lahore, Pakistan.

Kos Minars were described as a "marvel of India" by early European travelers such as Sir Thomas Roe and have been labeled as an integral part of India's ''national communication system" by Archaeological Survey of India.[1]

Characteristics

A kos in Sanskrit is one fourth of a yojana,[2] an ancient Indian unit of distance. It represented a distance of approximately 3.22 kilometres (2.00 mi). A minar is a Persian word for tower.

Kos Minars are solid round pillars, around 30 feet (9.1 m) in height, on a masonry platform built with bricks and plastered over with lime. They are not identical. As milestones, they were an important part of communication and travel.

History

Maurya period

In the third century BC, emperor Ashoka improved existing routes linking his capital city Pataliputra to Dhaka in the east and Kabul via Peshawar in the west and further to Balkh. These routes had landmarks in the form of mud pillars, trees or even wells to guide commuters.[3]

Sur period

The 16th-century Pashtun ruler Sher Shah Suri introduces improved brick pillars plastered over with lime at every kos. The minars thus came to be called as kos minars.

Mughal period

Abul Fazl recorded in Akbar Nama that in the year 1575 AD, Akbar issued an order that, at every kos on the way from Agra to Ajmer, a pillar or a minar should be erected for the comfort of the travelers.[4][5] Englishmen brought back detailed reports of the Kos Minars between 1615 and 1618.[3] In 1619, Emperor Jahangir ordered Bakir Khan, Fauzdar of Multan to erect a minaret at every kos.[6] In addition, many caravanserais (roadside inns) were built for travelers. Later emperors such as Shah Jahan continued to add to the network of Kos Minars. In the Mughal period, there were around 600 minars.[1] In the north, they were extended as far as Peshawar and in the east to Bengal via Kannauj.

Deterioration and preservation

As the British introduced Imperial units and later adoption of SI Units in independent India, the unit of measurement kos and subsequently these minars went out of use. The monuments gradually went into a state of disrepair, as contemporary people ignored their significance.[3] Only 110 Kos minars are left.[1] According to a report of the Archaeology Survey of India, there are 49 itself in Haryana.[6][7] There are also five Kos Minars around Ludhiana city.[8] Restoration work for nine Kos Minars near Mathura began in 2018.[3] The Archaeological Survey of India have given Kos Minars protected status and courts have ordered encroachments cleared away.

See also

References
  1. "Sher Shah Suri's kos minars once meant to show way to travellers stand lost today - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  2. Arthashastra, Chanakya, 4th century BCE, pp151
  3. Arvind Chauhan (2 March 2019). "These were the 'Google Maps' of 16th century, now they're lost in time". The Times of India.
  4. Kos Minar University of Alberta.
  5. Khandekar, Nivedita (27 October 2012). "A milestone on the highway". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  6. "Kos Minar". Haryana Tourism Corporation. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  7. "Signposts lost in history". The Sunday Tribune. 10 September 2006. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  8. "'Monumental' treasure house". The Times of India. 12 July 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
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