Two horse polo posts built by medieval kings, which were a reminder of Bidar’s rich cultural history, have disappeared now. They were on a piece of empty land in the middle of the city on Udgir Road.
Venkatrao Biradar, a former convict-turned farmer who grows sugarcane on the land, has claimed responsibility for demolishing them. “They were not historical monuments. People keep talking about anything that comes to their mind,” he said.
“We brought down those two pillars as snakes were nesting inside,” he told The Hindu . Mr. Biradar had served jail term on charges of killing Vijay Kumar Nagamarapalli over a dispute about the land. The dispute has not been settled yet. The land borders the Indian Air Force signal centre on one side.
They were part of the set of four pillars, put up on two sides out of a large polo field of over 590 yards. The pillars were huge, with a circumference of 16 ft, a height of 7 ft and a girth of 8 ft. The other two pillars are behind the new bus stand. The poles were featured in The Hindu on February 23, 2014. The Archaeological Survey of India or the State Archaeology Department are yet to recognise them as monuments.
In the book ‘Bidar: Its history and monuments’, the late Ghulam Yazdani, former Director of Archaeology with the erstwhile Hyderabad Nizam State, referred to them as Ran Khambh. He says the four pillars are on two ends of a large playing field. But they were called Ran Khambh (war stones) as sport was so important to them that it was likened to war, he says in the book. The book marks them as medieval era structures, but does not clearly say who built them.
Heritage lovers rued the destruction of the monument. “Damage or destruction of monuments, even unrecognised, is sad and unfortunate. It speaks about the need for recognising such structures and protecting them,” said Basavaraj Biradar, writer and historian.
P.C. Jaffer, Deputy Commissioner, said he would look into all issues related to the structures.
