Will restore old name of Maharashtra's Daulatabad fort as Devgiri: Tourism Minister

The Maharashtra tourism department will propose the renaming of Daulatabad fort located near Aurangabad city to its old name 'Devgiri', state Tourism Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said here on Saturday.

Lodha attended a ceremony to unfurl the tricolour held at the Bharat Mata temple located on the premises of the fort to mark the Hyderabad Liberation Day.

"The fort is known as Daultabad aka Devgiri. It is still known as the Daulatabad fort. The state Tourism department will submit a proposal to change its name back as Devgiri fort," he told reporters.

He said the tricolour was unfurled for the first time to mark the Hyderabad Mukti Sangram Divas at the spot.

"The flag will be hoisted every year," he added.

The fort was renamed Daulatabad by Mohammed Tughlaq in the 14th Century who understood its importance as a base for military operations in southern India and conceived the idea of making it his capital, according to historians.

However, the fort later came to be known as Qubbatul Islam and coins were minted with this name.

The fort located around 14 km from Aurangabad city is a national heritage monument maintained by the Archeological Survey of India.

The previous Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray had renamed Aurangabad Sambhajinagar.

The incumbent Eknath Shine-Devendra Fadnavis government added 'Chhatrapati' to the new name of Aurangabad.

In September 1948, Indian armed forces invaded the Nizam-ruled princely state of Hyderabad and annexed it into the Indian Union.

This annexation is celebrated as 'Hyderabad Mukti Sangram" Din.

Marathwada region in Maharashtra was part of the erstwhile princely state.