English
Forts
Mahim-Kelve (Maim, Quelme), Guzerate, India
Military Architecture
On the coastal strip about eight kilometres between the Mahim (to the north) and Kelve Rivers are vestiges of at least four fortifications, two from the Portuguese period and two of uncertain origin, but with an undeniably European appearance. The pragana of Mahim-Kelve began north of the Kelve River and was an integral part of the Daman district incorporated into the Estado da Índia in 1559. Mahim exported bate (rice with husk) and other agricultural products and was one of the areas with the biggest Portuguese presence in the Daman district. Like almost all Província do Norte territories, this pragana was conquered by the Marathas during the 1737-1739 conflict. A sea bastion stood precisely at the mouth of the Kelve River and was known locally as the Panikota or Panbhurj Fort. This may be a Maratha structure built after 1737 or an originally Portuguese edification built after 1635 and abandoned soon thereafter. In any case, the fortification’s overall morphology clearly recalls shore bastions of Portuguese origin. Indeed, it could also have been a Maratha initiative conceived by a Portuguese. The bastion, whose main duty was to defend the river’s entrance, comprises a triangular turret on the west side and a lower rectangular body on the land side containing various artillery emplacements. Also on the north bank of the Kelve River stand the ruins of a square tower or redoubt with artillery emplacements and a walled perimeter, possibly the vestiges of a fortified manor house. Attached to this structure is the Church of Our Lady of Remedies, a recent construction built over the ruins of a Portuguese church. Another structure is situated in the sand dunes about two kilometres north of the river’s mouth. It is a small square fort with bastions projecting from corners and is relatively well preserved. The bastion’s design dates the construction to the mid-18th century. Although there are no known historical documents explaining the fortification’s origin, its design reveals an unequivocally European hand relatively uncommon in Indian military architecture. The fortification may have been so located to prevent an amphibious attack. A dense growth of casuarina trees stand in and around the fort and the ground level has been raised by about a meter and a half. The ruins of Mahim Fort lie about six kilometres north of the above site. Located on the left bank at the mouth of the small river of the same name, this fort defended the important village of Mahim, where the chartered landowners of Mahim-Kelve resided. They totalled about 50 families by around 1635. Mahim was also home to about 150 Indian Christians and 200 slaves able to bear arms. Besides a church pertaining to the secular clergy, Mahim also boasted a Misericórdia charity institution and a Dominican church. It has not yet been possible to determine where these were located. One was possibly where the Hindu temple of Mahakali now stands, next to the south gate of the Portuguese fort. The latter is in an advanced state of ruin, though bastions with artillery positions, parapets and various two- storey structures still remain. The 1728 report by André Ribero Coutinho describes the fortification as having three bastions facing west and north and four redoubts facing land to the east. It was equipped with 15 artillery pieces. The poorly built walls were insufficient and its defensive value was undermined by the houses clustered against the southern walls. Coutinho also mentions the existence of an entrenchment dependent on Mahim, not far into the pragana. Despite these debilitating conditions, Mahim Fort resolutely resisted the 1739 Maratha attack and was one of the last positions to surrender before the fall of Vasai.
