The Centre de Sciences Humaines (CSH) & Centre for Policy Research (CPR) are pleased to invite you to an Urban Workshop N°189
Pilgrimage, Wellness, and Development: The Role of Global Buddhist Networks in Bodhgaya’s Transformation
Speaker: Siddharth Kumar (Centre for Jawaharlal Nehru Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi)
The event will be held online over Zoom
About the Talk:
Bodhgaya, a key pilgrimage site for Buddhists worldwide, has long faced challenges in addressing its infrastructure and connectivity to accommodate the increasing influx of tourists and pilgrims. Despite its religious significance, the region has suffered from inadequate state-led development, which has limited its potential as a major spiritual hub. In recent years, however, Bodhgaya has witnessed a transformation driven by global religious networks, particularly through the establishment of world-class meditation centers, yoga retreats, wellness centers, spiritual training institutions, and monasteries. This research explores the role of international Buddhist networks in shaping Bodhgaya’s emergence as a global spiritual capital. By examining the inadequacies of state-driven infrastructure projects and the rise of privately funded religious initiatives, the research analyzes how the convergence of local spiritual traditions with the global wellness trends has contributed to the region’s development. The research highlights the dynamic intersection of religious networks, spiritual tourism, and infrastructural growth, offering insights into the evolving relationship between global Buddhism and regional development.
About the Speaker:
Prasad Khanolkar is an urbanist based in Mumbai and currently teaches at the School of Environment and Architecture (SEA, Mumbai). He is primarily interested in the incongruous and collaborative operations through which marginalised urban residents assemble urban lives and habitats across cities of the Global South. He has worked as a planner and researcher in Mumbai, Gurugram, Portland, Nairobi, and Addis Ababa. Across these contexts, his individual and collaborative work has engaged questions of housing, infrastructures, governance, informality, and urban redevelopment. His work has been published in the form of book chapters and journal articles. He is the author of Passages of Play in Urban India: People, Media, Objects and Spaces in Mumbai’s Slum Localities (Routledge, 2022).
This is the one hundred and ninety-fourth (194) in a series of Urban Workshops planned by the Centre de Sciences Humaines (CSH), New Delhi, and Centre for Policy Research (CPR). These workshops seek to provoke public discussion on the city’s development issues and address all its facets including its administration, culture, economy, society, and politics. For further information, please contact: Rama Devi at ramadevi2487@gmail.com, Champaka Rajagopal at champaka@cprindia.org or Partha Mukhopadhyay at partha@cprindia.org.
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