![Sample our Tourism, Hospitality and Events journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5950/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Tourism-Hospitality-Events.jpg"})
Abstract
This paper examines the current policy framework under which religious tourism operates in India. It is based on a study of Vrindavan, a pilgrimage site representative of a majority of Hindu religious tourism destinations in India, receiving more than six million pilgrims annually. Using a case study approach, the paper highlights how most religious tourism activity takes place outside the state's framework of policies and institutions. The contemporary religious tourism industry has largely evolved from the tradition of pilgrimages and continues to thrive on the economy of religious devotion. Religious actors drive this industry by providing religious services, accommodation and transport options in pilgrimage sites yielding an explicit ‘religious’ and ‘informal’ orientation. Following the colonial legacy, quasi-religious entrepreneurs continue to enjoy exemptions from the state with regard to revenue generation and abstain from civic responsibilities. While the role of the state is undeniable, at present, this is fairly limited due to the lack of understanding of the informality of the industry, absence of adequate policy, and an ‘institutional vacuum’ in dealing with religious tourism. The fragmentation resulting from the free-market situation and the absence of regulation and lack of infrastructural support lead to a condition where a high influx of religious tourists threatens the cultural and environmental sustainability of religious tourism destinations.
Resumen
Este trabajo examina el marco político actual bajo el que el turismo religioso opera en India. Está basado en un estudio de Vrindavan, un representativo lugar de peregrinación para la mayoría de los hindús. Los destinos turísticos religiosos en la India reciben anualmente más de seis millones de peregrinos. Utilizando la aproximación de estudio de caso, este trabajo destaca cómo la mayoría de la actividad turística religiosa tiene lugar fuera del marco estatal de políticas e instituciones. La industria turística religiosa actual ha evolucionado de la tradición de las peregrinaciones y continúa prosperando la economía de la devoción religiosa. Los actores religiosos conducen esta industria proporcionando servicios religiosos, opciones de alojamiento y transporte en los lugares de peregrinación, cediendo una orientación ‘religiosa’ e ‘informal’ explícita. Siguiendo el legado colonial, empresarios cuasi-religiosos continúan disfrutando de exenciones estatales con respectos a la generación de ingresos y abstención de responsabilidades cívicas. Mientras el papel del estado es, actualmente, indiscutible, está bastante limitado debido a la falta de comprensión de la informalidad de la industria, ausencia de políticas adecuadas, y un ‘vacío institucional’ con respeto al turismo religioso. La fragmentación resultante de la situación de libre mercado y la ausencia de regulación y la falta de infraestructura lleva a una condición donde la alta afluencia de turistas religiosos amenaza la sostenibilidad cultural y medio ambiental de los destinos turísticos religiosos.
Résumé
Cet article examine le cadre législatif dans lequel le tourisme religieux fonctionne en Inde. Il s'appuie sur l’étude de Vrindavan, un lieu de pèlerinage représentatif de la majorité des destinations de tourisme religieux hindouiste en Inde qui reçoit plus de 6 millions de pèlerins chaque année. En s'appuyant sur un cas d’école, cet article pointe comment une grande partie de l'activité touristique s'installe en dehors du cadre réglementaire légal et des institutions. L'industrie moderne du tourisme religieux a grandement évolué depuis les pèlerinages traditionnels et continue à prospérer sur l’économie de la piété religieuse. Les acteurs religieux mènent cette activité en fournissant des services religieux, des possibilités d'hébergements et de transport sur les sites de pèlerinage mêlant « religieux » et « informel ». Suivant l'héritage colonial, des entrepreneurs quasi-religieux continuent de bénéficier d'exemptions de la part de l’état quant aux des revenus générés et de dispenses de responsabilités civiques. Alors que le rôle de l’état est incontestable, aujourd'hui, il est plutôt limité en raison d'une incompréhension du caractère informel de l'activité, de l'absence de cadre adapté et d'un « vide institutionnel » sur le tourisme religieux. L’émiettement résultant d'une situation de marché, de l'absence de régulation et du manque d'infrastructures supports mène à une situation où le fort afflux de touristes religieux menace la durabilité culturelle et environnementale des destinations de tourisme religieux.
摘要
本文分析了目前印度宗教旅游经营的政策框架。文章选择的案例地是具有代表性的印度教旅游目的地–沃林达文, 每年有超过600万的朝圣者到访该城市。通过对案例地的调查,本文揭示了绝大部分宗教旅游活动是如何在国家的政策和体制框架之外运行的。现代宗教旅游产业起源于传统的朝圣者, 并因宗教虔诚者而继续繁荣。宗教管理者通过在朝圣地提供宗教服务、住宿和交通服务推动了宗教旅游产业的发展, 并引导朝圣地向‘宗教性’和‘非正式性’的方向发展。作为殖民制度的延续, 准宗教企业家继续享受国家免税政策, 并免以承担公民责任。尽管国家的地位是不可否认的, 然而由于对产业非正式性的理解不够以及缺乏相关政策, 目前国家的作用非常有限, 宗教旅游产业出现了‘制度性的真空’。由于市场的自由化、缺乏规章制度和基础设施的不足, 导致大量涌入的宗教旅游者对宗教旅游目的地的文化和环境的可持续发展造成了威胁。
Notes
The National Council of Applied Economic Research for the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Government of India conducted the Domestic Tourism Survey in 2002–2003. It surveyed 800,000 households across the country in December 2002. The main objectives of the survey were to estimate the total number of domestic tourists by different purposes of travel and to estimate the total magnitude and patterns of tourist expenditures.
Darshan literally means seeing the deity and being seen by the deity – it also considered as a blessing from the deity. Liturgical assistance refers to the assistance pilgrims require from priests in performing specific prayers, practice of fulfilling vows through offerings, and rituals of worship. The assistance also extends to the proper conduct of other religious-cultural performances including listening to religious stories and religious sermons, offering of feasts, and active participation in festivals.
Hindus are divided amongst three main types of followers; Vaishnavas are followers of Vishnu, Shaivas are followers of Shiva, and Shaktas are followers of the Shakti, expressed in various kinds of Goddesses.
The Bhakti movement propagated a form of worship which criticized ‘the ritualistic “high” tradition, the brahminical scholastic tradition’ and instead advocated new social traditions based on simple devotion and faith in Vishnu. Although the movement is said to have originated during the eleventh century through philosophical teachings of gurus such as Ramanuja and Madhava, it was popularized over the following centuries by poet-saints in various parts of the subcontinent (Gelberg & Goswami, Citation1983), of which Chaitanya and Vallabhacharya are of particular importance for establishment of Vaishnava pilgrimage sites in North India including Mathura and Vrindavan.
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement, founded by a Vaishnava guru in the 1970s promoted Vrindavan as a place of spiritual nirvana. The building of the ISKCON temple and its international guesthouse in 1975 spearheaded the influx of international visitors to Vrindavan and also increased its popularity for domestic tourism (Brooks, Citation1992).
Agra served as the capital of the Mughal Empire and houses the famous Taj Mahal; Delhi is the present national capital and Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan, the state of fort-palaces.
In following the research protocol and ethical considerations, I have maintained the anonymity of interviewees by using pseudo names. Recruitment of individuals participating in the study followed procedures approved by Monash University's human research ethics committee. All translations of interviews and published sources from Hindi to English are my own.
Hein (Citation1972) notes that about 450 pandas were registered as members of the local Panda association, but many unregistered guides operate in Vrindavan claiming to be pandas and seeking business from visitors.
Traditionally, the term sadhu refers to a man or woman who has achieved divine enlightenment or received magical powers from some deity, and who has renounced all material trappings and desires of social life for a life of asceticism and spirituality (Ghurye, Citation1964). Sadhus are supposed to have few material possessions and live in simple ashrams in pilgrimage centres or in ‘retreats’ in places remote from urban civilization.
Holi is a festival that has been celebrated all over India since ancient times but its precise form and purpose varies according to the mythological legends adopted in different regions. Beginning from the full moon day (poornima) of the Hindu lunar month of Phalgun (February–March) this festival is celebrated for 2 to more than 15 days, depending on regional variations. Although Holi is also considered an agricultural festival to celebrate the arrival of spring, its ritual celebrations are rooted in several mythological legends.
The state agency has identified the Braj region as a cultural tourism destination and produces brochures describing important pilgrimage sites and promoting various festivals. Its recent policies promote the Braj region as part of a tourism circuit linking Delhi, Mathura-Vrindavan, and Agra (the city where the Taj Mahal stands). It is encouraging national and regional private tour companies, tour bus operators, ashrams, and hoteliers to provide comprehensive package tours that include transport, accommodation, and visits to cultural performances and events in these circuits. More recently, the tourism agency of the neighboring state of Rajasthan has developed plans to include Vrindavan as part of a tour circuit linked to its capital Jaipur. It plans to renovate the Jaipur temple in Vrindavan and create a tourism complex that includes ‘a large auditorium, number of shops, big lawns and other beautification proposals to generate income for the department’ (Amar Ujala, Citation2004, p. 2, translated from Hindi).
This program was lead by the national level agency of Central Pollution Control Board. The other towns are Kottayam (Kerala), Puri (Orissa), Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu), Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh).
Local sources such as field interviews and newspaper reports indicate that the population of Vrindavan rose significantly after the ISKCON temple was built in the 1970s. Many foreign and domestic migrants to Vrindavan come to seek spiritual guidance and devote their life to religious service and charitable activities. The influx of visitors led to a spate in the construction of modern guesthouses, hotels, and restaurants to accommodate the demands of a foreign clientele. The increased presence of foreign devotees and the growth of domestic pilgrimage traffic also drew a large number of poor people to the area.
Dharamshala is an accommodation facility for pilgrims to stay during their visit to a pilgrimage centre. It is mostly in form of a lodge and is generally built through charities of wealthy devotees and patrons. Ashrams, on the other hand, are spiritual retreats or recluses for advancement of spiritual learning. These are generally developed by gurus, saints, and godmen for their disciples as self-sufficient campuses and funded through donations of devotees.
The authors of the 1995 inventory note that in addition to those listed, there are a number of larger private residences that are used by religious sects as pilgrim-lodges and for accommodating visitors.
The Uttar Pradesh government created MVDA to control unauthorized and illegal land development, prepare development plans (25 years), enforce policies regarding conservation of heritage structures, and promote economic development in the Braj region by directing industrial growth and investment in tourism. MVDA comprises an executive wing headed by the Chairman and a Board that decides on its policies and projects. The members of the Board include the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of MVDA, the Chairperson of the municipalities of Mathura and Vrindavan, representatives from other state agencies that provide basic infrastructure.
This Master Plan was approved by the UP government in 1976 under Regulation 2484/37-3-39/NKV/73. Its planning jurisdiction extends over roughly 215 km2 of Mathura district and includes the urban municipalities of Mathura and Vrindavan and about 90 rural settlements.
The Kumbha Mela is a major pan-Indian pilgrimage event in the Hindu calendar. The event celebrates the victory of the gods over the demons in winning control over the pitcher or kumbha containing the nectar of immortality. According to myth, four drops of the nectar fell to earth during the battle, each landing in one of the following places: Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nasik. The mela rotates between these four religious centres and takes place every 3 years in January–February. Participating in the Kumbha Mela is regarded as a meritorious act for Hindus. It is the occasion for the largest congregation of sadhus or wandering ascetics and religious gurus and pilgrims from all over India and the world come to participate in the ritual bathing in the river on the day marking the mythical event. Before the main event in Haridwar Kumbha, there is a half-kumbha mela organized in Vrindavan also. These management plans follow the pattern that is generally adopted for larger kumbha melas that take place in other pilgrimage sites in the state. For the Vrindavan kumbha mela in 1998, the state government provided a grant of INR 5.5 million for mela arrangements and 135 hectares of community land on the banks of Yamuna River, which was later gazetted as ‘mela ground’ for future use. A central committee and 14 other supporting committees involving government officials, religious gurus and local residents were constituted to deal with issues such as safety, security, sanitation, public health and cultural performances.
These rules have been enacted based on suggestions made by INTACH (Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage) for the preservation of cultural heritage in the region. The regulations and controls define access, shape, size and external treatment of buildings in the vicinity of heritage structures. Some guidelines prohibit construction activity within a 100 m radius around the heritage structure and permit the construction of single storey structures within a 200 m radius (MVDA, Citation2002).
The executive wing of the municipality is headed by an Executive Officer while the electoral wing of 24 councilors is lead by a Chairperson. There are six committees and departments in the municipality (Revenue, Health, Waterworks, Construction, Electricity, Education) to deal with different civic issues of the town, but there is none to address/deal with the pilgrimage or religious activities.
This tax was levied on goods that entered the boundaries of each municipality and accounted for approximately two-thirds of the municipal revenues (Joshi, Citation1968).
On the basis of population size, the Census of India 1961 categorized urban areas in Classes I–VI. Class I = more than 100,000; Class II = 50,000–100,000; Class III = 20,000–50,000; Class IV = 10,000–20,000; Class V = 5000–10,000 and Class VI less than 5000 (Mookherjee, Citation1969).
The regulation and control of dharmshalas and public sarais (lodges) was legislated under Act XXII of 1867. The Act conferred powers to the District Magistrate to ‘enable dharmshalas to be kept in a good sanitary condition’ (Robertson, Harriss, & Singh, Citation1913, p. 21). But the continuous opposition and recurring threats by the Hindu patrons and pandas to shut dharmshalas rather than obey the act forced the government to repeal the Act in 1910. Consequently, dharmshalas remained ‘free of all special sanitary control’ (Robertson et al., Citation1913, p. 21). More controversial had been the regulation of the other type of accommodation, the lodging-houses, through the Lodging-House Act of 1892. The main objective of the act was to check overcrowding, contamination of wells due to foul latrines and to ensure that lodging-houses had sufficient light and ventilation. Under the Act, a lodging-house was defined as
a house, walled enclosure or other building, or part of such house, walled enclosure or building, ordinarily used for the purpose of affording temporary accommodation to persons in return for any direct or indirect consideration; but does not include a sarai or parao [halting place]. (cited in Robertson et al., Citation1913, p. 8)
The legislation enabled municipalities to fine owners of these places for maintaining unlicensed establishments and for ignoring the basic sanitary requirements. The right of inspection and the imposition of license fees were integral to the Act's successful implementation (Prior, Citation1990). The implementation of the Act was hampered by its definition. Terms such as ‘consideration’ and ‘ordinarily’ were open to interpretation and widely used by lodge-keepers for exemptions from the Act (Robertson et al., Citation1913, p. 8). The Act required the municipal administration to seek the assistance of pilgrimage priests but this was proved difficult in practice. In pilgrimage places such as Banaras ‘the municipal employees were no match for the powerful combines of lodging-house keepers’ (Prior, Citation1990, p. 199). Hence, the responsibility to provide basic services, maintain hygienic conditions and ensure law and order primarily fell to the local municipality at pilgrimage sites (Robertson et al., Citation1913).