Forgotten Fortification: The Maratha Ditch's Enduring Legacy in Kolkata

In the early 18th century, Kolkata (then Calcutta) was an important trading outpost for the East India Company. However, the region was plagued by the threat of Maratha raids, known as "Bargis," which terrorized the local population. It was during this period of fear and uncertainty, in 1742, that the British and Kolkata's residents united to dig a defensive trench called the Maratha Ditch.

The three-mile-long ditch was intended to shield Fort William and nearby villages from the Maratha onslaught. Though the Marathas never actually reached Kolkata, the ditch became a defining boundary of the growing city. Over time, it lost its military purpose and was gradually filled in, with the last remnants buried in the 1890s.

Today, the Maratha Ditch has vanished beneath Kolkata's urban sprawl, but its trace still survives in the layout of the city's roads. In Baghbazar, a quiet lane named Maratha Ditch Lane is one of the few places where locals can physically stand on the site of the old entrenchment, serving as a tangible reminder of Kolkata's forgotten military past.