- Rock shelters exist in villages near Fatehpur Sikri in Agra, but consensus could not be reached in the TEC meeting
2025.09.07 (Vrindavan Today News): Near Fatehpur Sikri in Agra, in the Aravalli hills, the campaign to recommend preservation of rock paintings that are more than seven thousand years old has once again been initiated. In the recent meeting of the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC), more votes were cast against the proposal for preservation than in its favor. As a result, the conservation work has come to a halt. A movement to protect this heritage has also been launched on social media.
Dr. Debashish Bhattacharya, who initiated the campaign, shared that in 2018 one of his patients informed him about these rock paintings. On Raksha Bandhan in 2018, he visited a village named Rasoolpur near Fatehpur Sikri. Surprisingly, the villagers of Rasoolpur knew nothing about these paintings. Later, a 75-year-old villager informed him about them. Nearby, on a small hill, at the edge of a little cave, these paintings were found in Patsal.
Apart from Rasoolpur and Patsal, rock paintings were also found in Madanpura, Jajauli, and Churiyari.
Demand for Preservation
Dr. Bhattacharya raised the demand for preservation of these paintings by submitting a memorandum to the then Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma. However, no action was taken. Later, he wrote to the Ministry of Culture and the Prime Minister’s Office. A memorandum was also given to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), but still nothing happened. He then took to Twitter to raise the issue. According to Dr. Bhattacharya, the demand was acknowledged but no steps were taken. In 2019, he met the then Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel, who assured him that the paintings would be preserved. Even then, no action followed. Later, he filed an RTI application and received a reply stating that no such proposal existed.
Dr. Bhattacharya then met Dr. Arvin Manjul, Director (Monuments) at ASI, in Delhi, and managed to retrieve old files. Only then did the matter move forward. Subsequently, then Agra Circle ASI Superintendent Vasant Swarnkar inspected the rock shelters, prepared a detailed report, and submitted it to the headquarters in Dharohar Bhavan.
According to Dr. Bhattacharya, action did begin after that report. The then District Magistrate was asked to provide land revenue records. With the help of these records, a survey was conducted. The surveyor’s report was submitted to Delhi. In June 2023, a memorandum was also given to the then Minister of Tourism and Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi.
Discovery in the 1980s
In the 1980s, Dr. Giriraj Kumar, archaeologist and Secretary of the Rock Art Society of India, discovered 12 rock shelters in Rasoolpur, three in Madanpura, eight in Jajauli, and four in Patsal, near Fatehpur Sikri, the Mughal capital. Illegal mining has since caused severe damage to these rock shelters, gradually destroying this priceless heritage. Demands for their preservation have been raised since the 1980s.
Paintings of Elephants and Nilgai
Several paintings have been found in the rock shelters at Patsal and Madanpura. These include depictions ranging from over seven thousand years ago up to the Gupta period. At Patsal, paintings of trees, animal groups, dances, and weapons have been found. In Madanpura, there are depictions of a tusked elephant, nilgai, and two bulls. Lions, deer, and hunting scenes are also painted in several places.
Mention in Historical Texts
Historian Rajkishore Raje has also mentioned these shelters in his book Tawarikh-e-Agra. According to him, Patsal and Madanpura have the highest number of rock paintings. These paintings, dating from the Neolithic age (around seven thousand years ago) to the Gupta period, have been created using red and black colors. Evidence found in the fields near the Patsal rock shelters suggests that primitive humans once lived there.
