In the medieval period there came up a numbers of what was then called Kos minars ( Mile Pillars) along the GT road in the northern states. First introduced in the 16th-century by Pashtun ruler Sher Shah Suri, the purpose of the tall minars was to serve as markers of distance along royal routes from Agra to Ajmer, Agra to Lahore, and from Agra to Mandu in the south. What an ingenious way to know the distance and location of the area while on a long distance travel centuries ago?
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| Kos Minar (Sher Shah Suri era) Punjab. |
Many of Kos Minars are found across the states like Rajasthan, Haryana Punjab, UP, etc., by the road side, railroad tracks and in the midst of paddy fields covering small villages and towns. Archaeological Survey of India has considered them as an integral part of India's ''national communication system"
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| Mogul Kos Minar, UP /upload.wikimedia.org |
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| Kos Minar, (Mogul era) Delhi zoo. /upload.wikimedia.org |
Above images: Kos Minar. Tall (30 ft) solid round cylindrical masonry tower tapering at top with lime plastering on the outer wall. Kos (Sanskrit) meaning one fourth of a yojana 2 miles or 3,22 k', old distance measurement; Minar (Arabic) meaning tower. Ruler Suri was the first to build solid Kos with bricks with strong foundation base and the odd towers were came to be known as Kos Minars......... .jpg) |
| Sher-Shah Suri , Delhi Sultan. i.ytimg.com |
Above image: Sher Shah Suri (Farid) was the founder of the Suri dynasty that ruled northern states nearly 16 or 18 years, between 1538/1540 and 1556, with Sasaram (in modern-day Bihar) serving as its capital. Son of a petty jagirdar, neglected by his father and ill treated by his step-mother, he very successfully challenged the authority of Mughal emperor Humayun, drove him out of India and occupied the throne of Delhi. He was a good administrator and modernized the long distance road ways connecting some cities in the north. He standardized the use of Kos to measure distances and built towers- later known as Kos Minars. Some of his Kos minars stand as his legacy.........
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| Kos Minar, Ruler Akbar Nausehra, UP. adequatetravel.com |
Kos Minars dotted along the main royal routes played no less role than other while the ruler was on a long tour via the designated routes. They played similar role of modern mile stone and was an important part of communication and travel. In the 3rd century emperor Ashoka had mud pillars or wells built along the travel routes to guide the commuters in the north eastern and north western region. Followed by ruler Suri (16th century), Mogul rulers depended on roughly 600 minars built by them while travelling. In order to help the travelers along with a caravan, they also had many caravanserais (roadside inns) built
for comfortable overnight stay.. The minars extended up to Peshawar in NW and E. Bengal NE via Kannauj.
Mogul ruler gave importance to minars and according to Abul Fazl who 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. The Mogul rulers used them diligently not only as a marker of distance, but also as a military check post and surveillance. A man stop the minar will watch the enemy movements a far off distances. When incoming army is spotted, the gate keepers and other will be ready to confront the enemy. the oupost at the Kos minars were intended to counter threats from invaders from other countries, rebels, groups of bandits
renegade generals & nobles. Urgent messages, etc were passed on
to the other through the official message-carriers posted there along with horses. The messages would reach the destination via many Kos minars where they could take rest and eat food before resuming journey. When the ruler and his retinue were on a long journey, he and the military officers would change horses at Kos Minars.
After the arrival of the British and with the introduction of Imperial units and later, post independence the Kos unit of distance marker became obsolete and out of use. The structures were paid less attention and in many cases they became damaged. Only 110 Kos minars are left (49 in Haryana alone) and many of them are a state of disrepair. Presently under the ASI under the protected heritage site category. In 2018 the ASI took steps to repair and restore 9 Kos minar in Mathura area alone. Efforts are being made to restore many of them as they are the vestiges of past era distance markers. At many places the encroachers were removed from the government protected sites.
https://pixels-memories.blogspot.com/2013/05/kos-minar-faridabad-haryana.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kos_Minar
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