Paper short abstract:

Drawing on recent ethnographic fieldwork this paper will examine the political economy of tourism development in contemporary Bodhgaya, the seat of Buddha's Enlightenment.

Paper long abstract:

Within the last fifteen years India has been recast as a rising global super power through a mounting rhetoric of economic reform and increasing liberalization. This transitional narrative and optimistic horizon runs in contrast with the rural poverty, violent caste and class inflections and decaying state structures characteristic of Bihar. Although the state's rich 'civilizational' and spiritual heritage is the homeland of both Buddhism and Jainism, Bihar has remained ill equipped in its capacity to provide adequate infrastructure for the development of international pilgrimage and tourist sites. However, in recent years the site of Buddha's Enlightenment has seen a resurgence of transnational Buddhism and pilgrimage involving the (re)settlement of foreign monastic institutions which forge and sustain multi-stranded social relations that extend beyond national borders. These institutions have played a proactive role in recreating the site as a World Buddhist Centre and have also precipitated the rise of new forms of social polarization, exploitation and competition among local stakeholders intertwined with tourism as a source of livelihood.

Drawing on recent ethnographic fieldwork this paper will contextualize these postcolonial and local/global entanglements in contemporary Bodhgaya. In line with this panel session, emphasis will be placed on the recent activities and political agendas of national and state tourism authorities in their efforts to tap into its rich vernacular heritage and spiritual past to boost the economy of Bihar through brand Buddhism. The recent 2002 declaration of the Mahabodhi Temple as a UNESCO World Heritage site will also be discussed in terms of the politics of representation, management and implications of future conservation strategies.