The Rebirth of Bodh Gaya

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More than two thousand years ago, in a village in North India, Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment while sitting under what became known as the Bodhi tree. This multilayered historical ethnography of Bodh Gaya explores the spatial politics surrounding the 2002 transformation of the Mahabodhi Temple Complex into a Unesco World Heritage Site. The rapid change from a small town with an agricultural economy to an international destination that attracts hundreds of thousands of Buddhist pilgrims and visitors each year has given rise to conflicts over space and meaning among Bodh Gaya's diverse constituencies, from Buddhist monks and nuns, to hotel and restaurant owners, to residents and tourists, to local and national government. Through the case of Bodh Gaya, David Geary examines the modern revival of Buddhism in India, the colonial and postcolonial dynamics surrounding archaeological heritage and sacred space, and the role of tourism and urban development Book jacket.