Expert panel formed for construction of Shivaji memorial in Agra

Maharashtra government forms committee for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj memorial in Agra, including museum and historical information.

The Maharashtra government on Friday (March 21, 2025) announced the formation of an expert committee under the Minister of Tourism for the construction of a grand memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Agra, where he was kept under house arrest by the Mughals in the 17th century.

The government issued an order appointing the Department of Tourism as the nodal department for land acquisition and other ancillary matters.

The Maharashtra government is slated to buy the designated land for the construction of the memorial. The order comes days after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made an announcement on the birth anniversary of the Maratha King. “The place where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was kept under house arrest in the city of Agra will be acquired by the Maharashtra Government, and a grand memorial will be erected there, and the necessary funds will be provided in the budget,” the order issued by the government on Friday stated.

The memorial will include a museum, audio-visual programs, documentaries, etc., to provide information about Maratha history to visitors.

“After going to Agra, Marathi tourists try to visit the place where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was imprisoned, but because there is no historical monument, museum, these tourists do not understand the information. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is the idol of Maharashtra. His feat, which is very rare outside Maharashtra, is a very valuable and instructive matter of history. Even today, all other history researchers, including Marathi researchers, are studying this matter. Many sites that bear witness to the prowess of those great heroes are unknown outside Maharashtra. For the exaltation of that glorious history, the government has made a conscious decision to develop such places in other states to preserve, enhance, and develop these places and these heritages,” it said.

The decision comes amid growing controversy in Maharashtra over Aurangzeb’s tomb, even as the 395th birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was celebrated recently.