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Geoforum 43 (2012) 116–127

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Geoforum

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / g e o f o r u m

Place-making and environmental change in a Hindu pilgrimage site in India

Kiran A. Shinde ⇑ Urban and Regional Planning, School of Behavioural, Cognitive & Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of New England, Armidale NSW 2350, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 6 April 2010 Received in revised form 7 July 2011 Available online 30 August 2011

Keywords: Hindu pilgrimage sites Socio-spatial dialectic Environmental change Vrindavan India

0016-7185/$ - see front matter � 2011 Elsevier Ltd. A doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2011.07.014

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Many Hindu pilgrimage sites in India experience heavy influxes of pilgrims and are subject to consider- able environmental impact. Existing literature on the study of the environment in pilgrimage sites, how- ever, appears to follow two divergent directions: one emphasizes degradation of the physical environment while the other highlights the sacred character of the place and how that is compromised by contemporary visitor flows. The aim of this paper is to move beyond this divergence and to demon- strate how contemporary environmental problems are outcomes related to a historical process of envi- ronmental change that accompanies the making of a sacred place. This paper is based on a case study of Vrindavan, a Hindu pilgrimage site associated with Krishna worship in northern India. More than 6 million visitors visit Vrindavan annually. Using a historical geography approach and socio-spatial dia- lectic conceptual framework, the paper explains how this pilgrimage landscape was established in the 15th century, and how since then it has evolved into a religious-urban place comprising more than 5500 temples. Its development is categorized into three periods: pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial. In each period, the socio-spatial fabric showed significant transformations that resulted from the inter- action of three critical factors: the influence of local and global socio-economic processes on the cultural economy of pilgrimage, the relationship of this economy to spatial change, and institutional controls that regulated the other two factors. It is argued that the environment of pilgrimage is simultaneously social, economic, cultural and religious and shaped by the need to maintain the place as sacred. This insight is useful for a better understanding of contemporary environmental problems so that they may be addressed effectively.

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1. Introduction

Religion and religious sites continue to be an important area of geographical enquiry regardless of contesting claims about an increasingly secular society (Reader, 2007). (Brace et al., 2006; Valins, 2000). Almost all societies consider particular locations and routes as sacred and of religious significance. These places at- tract visitors and their influx affects the natural and built environ- ments of these places (Stoddard and Morinis, 1997). With their iconography and symbolism, they also form the focal points for cultural exchange and conflicts across several levels, ranging from ownership and custody (Chidester and Linenthal, 1995; Luz, 2008) to the physical use of the site as a resource for multiple forms of tourism including pilgrimage, religious and cultural tourism, and mass tourism (Gatrell and Collins-Kreiner, 2006; Nolan and Nolan, 1989). The latter is increasingly emerging as an area of concern as it is often perceived as compromising the sanctity of the site (Shackley, 2001; Shoval, 2000). Thus, tensions arise between tour- ism developments often perceived as profane activity in pilgrimage

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sites and as having adverse impact on the sacred character of these locations. These tensions pose challenges in understanding two fundamental questions: What constitutes the ‘‘environment’’ of a pilgrimage site and how are environmental problems defined?

Questions about the environment and environmental change are especially critical in India where more than 100 million people tra- vel to about 2000 pilgrimage sites annually. In many pilgrimage sites, commonly reported environmental problems include unhy- gienic conditions resulting from overcrowding and strain on phys- ical infrastructure, deforestation, land use changes and increased pollution of natural resources. Yet, little is done to address this im- pact on the environment. Part of the problem is the way the term ‘‘environment’’ is conceived and used in relation to pilgrimage sites. Key groups of social actors, especially those engaged in religious activities, describe these places as fixed archetypes within an unchanging Hindu canon that exist outside of history (Eck, 1982). By using mythical legends, place eulogies and religious symbolism they continue to imagine these places as transcendent. In doing so, they tend to dismiss or overlook the problems that they believe only exist in the physical and material world. Even when environ- mental problems are recognized, they are articulated with refer- ence to an imagined glorious past (Alley, 2002; Joseph, 1994). Thus, such socio-cultural constructions generate dissonance about

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the enormous changes taking place in these places and also high- light the lack of understanding of what constitutes the environment and resulting inability to respond to environmental damage. This paper explores these themes – the interaction of religious practices, sacred landscapes, and the environment – using the case study of Vrindavan, an important Hindu pilgrimage sites in India.

Present-day Vrindavan has more than 5500 temples dedicated to Krishna. It is estimated that more than 6 million visitors come to Vrindavan annually for pilgrimage and religio-cultural tourism. Environmental problems in Vrindavan are well documented and are generally attributed to the large numbers of visitors (Sharan, 1995; Sullivan, 1998). By undertaking a historical geography ap- proach, this paper shows how these are secondary to the process of evolution of Vrindavan as a pilgrimage site. Historically, the so- cio-spatial outcomes have always been and continue to be related to religious needs, the cultural economy of pilgrimage rituals, and broader socio-economic, religious and institutional processes occurring within and externally to Vrindavan. Thus, this paper has two objectives: (1) to explain the process of constructing and maintaining a pilgrimage site and (2) to investigate how this pro- cess in itself constitutes the environment and drives environmen- tal change. In doing so, the paper attempts to contribute to understanding the tensions between concerns about environmen- tal change, on the one hand, the sacred character of the site, and more broadly to the study of sacred geography.

2. Pilgrimage sites and environmental change

In a recent review of literature, Timothy and Olsen (2006) iden- tified four broad themes in pilgrimage studies: (i) distinguishing the pilgrim from the tourist (tourist–pilgrim dichotomy), (ii) the characteristics and travel patterns of religious tourists, (iii) the eco- nomics of religious tourism, (iv) the negative impacts of tourism on religious sites and ceremonies. It would be of little point in repro- ducing this discussion here, but it is important to emphasise the observation about the dearth of research around the last theme. Tanner and Mitchell (2002) have also noted the neglect of concep- tual discussion about relationships between religions, religious practices (in particular pilgrimage), sacred places and their envi- ronments. A starting point for this enquiry can be found in the dis- ciplinary areas of anthropology and physical environment studies, which approach this subject in two different ways.

Anthropologists have focused on pilgrimage as a religious tradi- tion operating in a socio-cultural space. Pilgrimage reinforces sanc- tity through rituals and procedures that are invested with religious beliefs, meanings and imagery (Morinis, 1984; Turner and Turner, 1978). Through these performances, social actors articulate the meaning of the sacred environment around metaphysical relation- ships with sacred objects (Alley, 2002; Joseph, 1994). Therefore, ideas of environmental change are limited to the effects observed in the religious–cultural sphere. For example, Shoval (2000) points out that in Jerusalem the orthodox religious authorities felt that the infiltration of consumer culture, superficial tourist behaviour, and demands for staged performances devalued the sanctity of pil- grimage and contributed to profanisation and commodification of the sacred landscape. Similarly, Hobbs (1992) found that monks in Mt. Sinai were critical of tourism demands as these were weak- ened the fabric of monastic society and altered the perceived sanc- tity of the place. Such claims from the viewpoints of religious actors reinforce ideas about the abstract ‘other worldly divine quality’. However, in doing so, they tend to overlook the use of pil- grimage sites for different forms of tourism and the problems these generate in the physical environment.

The physical activity of visitation in a sacred place by people implies that they will cause some kind of environmental impact

(Shackley, 2001). Several physical environmental studies have re- ported on the impacts associated with visitor flows during pilgrim- age events including overcrowding, stampedes, traffic congestion, short-term stress on natural resources and environmental services, large quantities of waste, high levels of pollution (air, water, and soil) and clearing of land for temporary accommodation (Kaur, 1985; Singh, 2002). The intensity and magnitude of these problems increase as visitor demand for infrastructure such as hotels, restau- rants, shops selling religious paraphernalia, travel agencies, and other businesses increases, which in turn drives urbanization pro- cesses (Shackley, 2001). Two major questions remain unanswered in this approach: (1) What are the relationships between the visi- tor-driven processes of urbanization and environmental problems, and (2) do increased environmental problems influence visitors, who are often there regardless of physical appearance or aesthetic of the place (Haberman, 2006).

These two approaches provide only a limited explanatory ac- count of the environmental situation in Hindu pilgrimage sites. Many studies have reported on the degradation of the physical envi- ronment in pilgrimage places (Alley, 2002; Sullivan, 1998). But what seems contradictory is that visitors often tend to overlook the envi- ronmental conditions during their visits: Sullivan’s observation is not unfounded: ‘‘a government pronouncement that the water of the Yamuna or Ganges River is not sanitary for bathing does not de- ter a pilgrim who places greater value on the salvific power than its cleansing ability’’ (Sullivan, 1998, p. 261). Moreover, religious actors continue to emphasize mythological images of sacred sites in order to promote more visitations and encourage performance of religious rites. Such contradictions are commonplace and generate confused understanding of the environment of the site.

The foregoing review shows that the environment in a pilgrim- age site is better understood in terms of its characteristics as sacred space, which has both materialistic and metaphysical dimensions existing at different levels. Believing in the sacred and accessing it is a metaphysical experience. This experience is mediated through social relationships between devotees, objects of devotion and religious intermediaries (gurus and priests). The religious framework in which such ritual exchanges and perfor- mances take place informs the perceptions and worldviews of those involved about the physical outcomes of their activities. The religious practice of pilgrimage and its spatial outcome is tak- ing place at two different levels rather than working together. However, this socio-spatial interaction does not exist in a vacuum and its construction is contingent upon the broader socio-eco- nomic and political processes taking place within and outside of the site. A synthesis of these ideas is adequately captured in the conceptual apparatus of socio-spatial dialectic.

The conceptual framework of socio-spatial dialectic also refers to the process of place-making (Brace et al., 2006; Harvey, 2002). According to this approach, social relationships are played out over space and spatial relationships are reflected in the organization and functioning of the society (Harvey, 2002; Soja, 1980). It also means that the space in which societies operate is simultaneously constituted and produced by that society. Using this concept along with the historical geography approach assists in understanding how contemporary environmental problems represent one mo- ment in a long trajectory of environmental change that is related to the construction and maintenance of a sacred place. This ap- proach helps in explaining pilgrimage sites as dynamic and evolv- ing entities in which the environment is simultaneously physical, economic, institutional, and cultural.

The significance of this approach is illustrated by the following example. Undertaking a pilgrimage on foot and listening to the sto- ries and legends associated with the land is a way to experience the numinous quality of the landscape (Entwistle, 1987; Haber- man, 1994). There is a need for some form of religious mediation

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Map 1. Location of Vrindavan.

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to achieve the desired goal of an emotional and metaphysical expe- rience and yet these activities have an explicit material dimension to them. With the introduction of new modes of travel (car, buses, trains), new patterns of visitor flows may emerge and they may re- quire different types of spaces (bus stops, parking lots, etc.). Adding new spaces means a change to the physical environment.

Thus, the conceptual framework for this study focuses on three interrelated components that are central to understanding how the environment in a pilgrimage site is produced and maintained: (1) the effect of broader social, political, and economic processes on pilgrimage economy, particularly on pilgrimage practice and patronage relationships; (2) the ways in which this economy is re- lated to spatial change; and (3) the institutions, laws, custom, and agencies – state, religious, popular or civic-based – that control or regulate the practice, performance, and environment of pilgrimage. These factors are used as anchors to explain the socio-spatial history of Vrindavan.

3. Vrindavan – A spatial–historical analysis

Vrindavan is a pilgrimage site that has close to 5500 temples dedicated to Krishna. It was established in the 15th century as a part of a pilgrimage landscape known as Braj, which represented the mythical and symbolic setting for the legend of Krishna (Entwistle, 1987).1 At present Vrindavan has a resident population of around 60,000 and the town’s municipal area is 24 km2 (refer to

1 Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu but in Braj he is considered to be a cowherd god.

Map 1 for location). Many studies have reported the state of environ- mental degradation in Vrindavan and most of them echo Sullivan’s observation: ‘‘the conflict between descriptions in ancient devo- tional texts and the reality of Vrindavan today is stark (1998, p. 254).’’

As much as this conflict is true, it overlooks the fact that Vrind- avan’s reputation as a pilgrimage site relies on historical, cultural and religious associations built up cumulatively over many centu- ries and that the contemporary environment is only one stage within this ongoing process. The following sections describe the process of evolution of Vrindavan through three historical periods: pre-colonial (15th–19th century), colonial (19th–mid 20th cen- tury) and post-colonial (post-1947). Such periodisation is neces- sary because colonial rule in India had far reaching effects on economy, society and religion, and in particular, produced signifi- cant shifts in the pilgrimage economy, patronage relationships, institutions, and their reflection in the pilgrimage landscape.

This study draws on a variety of historical material including maps, religious texts and scriptures, vernacular publications, tem- ple histories, and newsletters from popular temples. Field surveys including interviews were conducted in 2005 to document pat- terns of contemporary pilgrimage travel, spatial changes, and the environmental issues in Vrindavan.

3.1. Pre-colonial period

In 15th century India, a devotional form of worship to Vishnu and his incarnations, including Krishna, became very popular. At the forefront were poet-saints including Vallabhacharya and Chait-

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anya who initiated the discovery of the sites associated with Krish- na mythology in north India. Their disciples, through religious scriptures and texts, inscribed Krishna legends onto a pastoral landscape that included several forests and woodlands, and lakes and ponds around Yamuna River. In this landscape, known as Braj, they also defined routes, itinerary, procedures of travel and rituals that needed to be performed at every significant site (Entwistle, 1987).

Within this landscape, one forest – Vrindavan – was selected by Chaitanya and his six disciples, known as Six Goswamis, for develop- ment as the centre of Krishna worship. These founder Goswamis translated their divine visions, installed images of Krishna in shrines, and provided the theological framework. They also propagated their individualized forms of worship rituals and insti- tutionalized several practices that became standard pilgrimage per- formances. Most commonly, a pilgrim would visit the goswamis and other gurus to listen to their sermons and seek counsel, take ritual bath in Yamuna River, visit temples to take divine sight (darshana) of Krishna, and participate in religious–cultural rituals and perfor- mances such as katha (religious story-telling by gurus), and raslila (plays and dramas depicting episodes from the Krishna legend) (Purohit, 1989). Additionally, they would perform the circumambu- latory pilgrimage of the town.2 These rituals followed different rhythms of the religious calendar, including festivals and events sur- rounding the stories from Krishna mythology. It was through the par- ticular path, pattern of movement and stopovers, and the narration of spatial stories of Krishna that this sacred landscape was maintained and reproduced. These activities and the landscape formed the basic framework for the cultural economy of pilgrimage in Vrindavan, which hitherto was ‘‘merely a wild inhabited jungle’’ (Growse, 1883, p. 187).

This forest kind of landscape began to change with the constant influx of saints and pilgrims. An important factor in the growth of Vrindavan was the political stability in the region under the 16th century Mughal Empire. Akbar (1556–1605), the most popular em- peror, consolidated large parts of the Indian subcontinent hitherto governed by several small kingdoms and confederacies. He brought them under a system where the aristocrats and landlords (zamin- dars) collected revenue for the emperor in exchange for security and military support during warfare (Habib, 1982). Markets and administrative centers were established and linked by roads and waterways. The emergence of an integrated network of urban con- gregations and the increased flow of trade and commerce also contributed to the increase in pilgrimage traffic to Vrindavan (Haberman, 1994).

The growth was also fuelled by the benevolent policies adopted by Akbar, including the abolition of jizya, a form of poll tax that had been imposed on Hindu subjects by earlier Muslim rulers, and a pilgrim tax (Entwistle, 1987).3 After a visit to Vrindavan in 1573, Akbar conferred land grants on the leading goswamis and Hindu no- bles who wished to build temples for worshipping Krishna; by 1580, Braj had 35 temples of repute and importance, of which seven had received imperial land grants from which they derived their reve- nues (Mukherjee and Habib, 1987). The atmosphere of religious tol- erance and the building of temples enabled more Vaishnava gurus and pilgrims to establish ashrams (monastic establishments) and permanent settlements. A region that was predominantly pastoral and agrarian separated by forests (Singh, 1995) began to evolve into a permanent settlement of religious establishments.

2 A similar but more exhaustive circumambulatory pilgrimage known as Braj-yatra was an annual feature of the calendar of pilgrimage activities.

3 Pilgrim tax was specially levied on Hindus who visited pilgrimage centres. Reasons for imposing both jizya and pilgrim tax were religious, political and economic, specifically for subordination of Hindus and generation of revenue.

Alongside spatial expansion, social changes were also observed. Gurus emphasized construction of religious establishments as so- cial markers for maintaining their hegemony and sectarian follow- ership. A well known poet of the period, Hariram Vyas, criticized the gurus and patrons for their mindless building of temples of stone instead of worshipping the forests of Krishna and noted that ‘‘the presence of hypocrisy and corruption. . .competition for cli- ents had already begun to vitiate the atmosphere’’ (cited in Entwis- tle, 1987, p. 74).

This first growth stage in Vrindavan came to an end during Aurangzeb’s reign (1659–1707). In reasserting the dominance of Is- lam, Aurangzeb ordered the destruction of Hindu temples includ- ing those in Vrindavan. However, the destruction of temples had little effect on the theological framework of devotional worship, rituals and Goswami lineages that was firmly anchored around Krishna mythology and its geographical fixity in the landscape of Braj. Pilgrimage activities in Vrindavan resurfaced with the change in political conditions.

The political upheavals of the 18th century weakened the cen- tral authority of the Mughal Empire and contributed to the rise of several autonomous Hindu kingdoms. It was under their patron- age that rebuilding of Vrindavan restarted. It is first necessary to consider the political economy to contextualize their patronage. Amongst the prominent Hindu kingdoms were the Jats, the Mara- thas, and the Sikhs (Bayly, 1983). In order to consolidate their power, they employed the services of European officers as military advisors. They also sought the support of indigenous warrior groups that traversed the subcontinent during annual pilgrimage cycles and established well connected trade routes between their centres of activities, called maths (religious foundations) and akh- aras (area for physical training) (Bayly, 1983). The political instabil- ity in the region due to frequent internal conflicts and external invasions resulted in shorter periods of supremacy of any particu- lar kingdom.4 The uncertainties of this period instituted some long lasting trends in pilgrimage practices and the overlapping of religion, commerce and militancy reshaped the pilgrimage landscape.

The patronage of the Hindu kings contributed to the evolving of pilgrimage practice into a ritualistic tradition. Their pilgrimages showed a mix of political, recreational, and religious motivations (Purohit, 1989). Often they were ‘‘state sponsored,’’ aimed at advancing political ties, and represented the ruler’s intention to ap- pease the deities in pilgrimage sites for the general welfare of their subjects (Prior, 1990). Pilgrimage also became a ritual means for gaining social recognition. For instance, warrior-landholders such as Jats and Marathas derived their wealth from plundering, ban- ditry and robbery (Bayly, 1983; Sarkar, 1972). In order to claim ancestry to a ritually superior ancient Aryan clan, these rulers espoused the traditional role of a Hindu king and invested patron- age in religious activities that included performance of elaborate rituals with the help of pilgrimage priests, conferring land grants, and building temples and ghats [stepped embankments for per- forming rituals along the river] (Bayly, 1983). Owing to the inter- dependence between rulers, priests and royal patronage, ‘‘the openings in religious occupations. . .were many and lucrative; the employment available in servicing the pilgrims alone was sizable’’ (Prior, 1990, p. 261). Vrindavan saw similar developments.

While the Hindu kings sponsored construction of new temples and ashrams, they also invested in three new types of built-form: riverside ghats, palatial mansions called kunjs, and akharas. The building of elaborate and richly decorated ghats along the banks of the Yamuna consolidated Vrindavan as a ‘tirthasthan’ in the pop- ular sense of the word, that is, a place where pilgrimage rituals

4 For the first part of the eighteenth century, the Jats ruled the region including Vrindavan. Their rule was followed by an even shorter period of Maratha dominion before the British finally annexed the region.

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Fig. 1. Riverside ghats constructed around the mid-18th century (pre-colonial period).

Fig. 2. Haveli constructed around the mid-18th century (pre-colonial period).

120 K.A. Shinde / Geoforum 43 (2012) 116–127

were performed to transcend into the other world; at least 37 ghats are dated to this period (Purohit, 1989) (please refer to Figs. 1 and 2). The building of palatial mansions was aimed at translating the symbolism of Kunj – a bower – that reflected a certain degree of ‘‘seclusion and mystical darkness’’ and provided the setting for ‘‘intimate devotional communion’’ with Krishna (Entwistle, 1987, p. 301). Akharas were established as gymnasiums for military training.5 Map 2 indicates the locations of these developments and how they led to the evolution of a religious–recreational landscape in Vrindavan which by now comprised ‘‘numerous temples, man- sions and bazaars, surrounded by thickly planted suburbs’’ (Mons. Victor [in 1829–1830] cited in Growse (1883, p. 188)).

By the 19th century, Vrindavan had evolved into a popular Hin- du pilgrimage site. The devotional pilgrimages were embedded in a religious framework articulated through rituals and cultural per- formances and involving goswamis, gurus, priests (pandas) and so- cial relationships with pilgrims. These relationships also played out in the spatial layout of the town as the settlement expanded around the grand temples that were built by the founding gosw- amis and their patrons. The Hindu royal families embraced pil- grimage as a ritual for achieving better and higher social status and with their patronage contributed to the development of pil- grimage as a ritualistic tradition where existing social relationships were reinforced and socio-economic dimensions enhanced.6 Thus,

5 Akharas served two main purposes; to protect the Hindu religious establishments from destruction by Muslim attacks, and to maintain their hegemony in relation to the other ascetic groups.

6 In describing a pilgrimage of a Maratha king to Vrindavan, Purohit (1989) mentions that the king found at least a thousand temples there but decided to stay at a mansion and recruit the services of a priest from his native place in western India.

it can be speculated that competition and rivalry amongst religious functionaries continued as a social trait. The cultural economy of pil- grimage constituted new spaces for its functioning; ghats for per- forming rituals, palatial mansions for recreation and celebratory activities, and bazaars for servicing pilgrims. In this process of spatial expansion, the earlier pastoral-forest landscape was continuously re- placed by built environment. While this environment still repre- sented and supported a high intensity of religious functions and was valued as such, it was poised for a dramatic turn with the arrival of colonial rule.

3.2. Colonial period

To understand the changes to the pilgrimage economy and landscape, a brief review of the political context of colonization is first necessary. The British arrived in India through the East India Company and operated through a subsidiary alliance system; they provided military protection to the ruler of a state from external threats in return for a subsidy or a tribute, often in the form of land revenue. Although the autonomy of the ruling kings was contin- ued, the Company controlled external relations, defense, and trade in these states, which they called Princely States (Balzani, 2003). Other states, which were subdued by military power, became part of British India. These were called ‘provinces’ and ‘presidencies’ and were further subdivided into districts and municipal areas. While British administrators constantly tried to suppress their de- mands for independence, they also offered piecemeal governance opportunities to their Indian subjects and introduced several new urban institutions and political ideas regarding local self-govern- ment. The concept of a federation at the centre with greater auton- omy to the provincial governments laid the foundations for the future political system and governance structure in independent India (Bose and Jalal, 1998).

In terms of economic change, British administrators introduced a ‘permanent settlement’ system where private property rights were assigned to landlords (zamindars), with a view to increasing land revenues. They also invested in irrigation networks, in order to expand cultivation, and in transport infrastructure to increase trade and commerce (Bose and Jalal, 1998). The framework of util- itarian colonial institutions, legislations, and policies that was established for governance also molded social life to a great extent and undermined the socio-economic condition of the masses (Bay- ly, 1983). These processes contributed to the emergence of new forms of patronage relationships, changing patterns of pilgrimage travel, and the development of new institutions in the manage- ment of pilgrimage economy and pilgrim towns.

A new class of social elites emerged from the service gentry and commercial groups (including merchants, bankers and landholding groups) on whom British administrators relied for the generation and collection of revenue (Bayly, 1983). These groups also acted as prominent patrons in pilgrimage sites because they possessed wealth but needed social status; the more money one invested in religious activities in a pilgrimage centre, the more one was acknowledged as within the society resourceful and pious (Veer, 1988). The new patrons also embraced the idea of trusts as an effective way to manage the landed endowments and charities be- stowed on the temples and ‘temple economies’ that functioned around pilgrimage activities (Presler, 1987).7

The new patrons, whose numbers were consistently increasing, followed patterns of ritualistic pilgrimages. Moreover, improved

7 Several pieces of legislation were enacted to legitimize and regulate religious investments (Sundar, 2002) and these provided opportunities for different classes and caste groups to extend collective religious patronage (Veer, 1988). These included the Society Registration Act (1860), the Religious Endowments Act (1863), the Charitable Endowments Act (1890), the Charitable and Religious Trusts Act (1920).

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Map 2. The settlement of Vrindavan in the late 18th century.

8 The district of Mathura was annexed in 1803 and its first Permanent Settlement was implemented in 1805. It was first incorporated within the North Western Provinces in 1835, and subsequently into the United Provinces in 1902.

9 The temples built by the new patrons were costly edifices in relation to the general poverty of the region ( Growse, 1883). Comparing these figures with the municipality’s annual budget of Rs. 25,000 (in 1881) shows the grandeur and wealth invested in these temples, some of which were built at costs ranging from Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 45 lakhs [Rs 10 lakh = Rs. 1 million]. One of the new temples reminded a British Officer of a ‘‘London Casino’’.

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accessibility and availability of transport infrastructure contrib- uted to the transformation of pilgrimage into a mass movement phenomenon (Parry, 1994; Veer, 1988). While ‘‘railways. . .revolu- tionized pilgrim traffic’’ (Robertson et al., 1913, p. 5), they also re- sulted in a sizable increase in ‘flexible pilgrimages’ and short-term visits which altered the seasonal pattern of traditional pilgrimages (Parry, 1994; Prior, 1990). The large influx of pilgrims and their de- mands, and the requirements of pilgrimage priests for pilgrimage rituals, further strengthened the organized form of the pilgrimage industry (Lochtefeld, 1992; Veer, 1988).

British administrators also responded to the increasing traffic and its impacts on pilgrimage sites. They began to manage pilgrim- age events to avoid epidemics by ensuring proper sanitation during large gatherings. Sanitary measures included compulsory reporting to medical officers, building temporary latrines and waste disposal mechanisms, and confining defecation to temporary public la- trines. Legislation such as the Lodging-House Act was enacted to improve the unhygienic conditions that were rampant in the accommodation facilities provided by pilgrim priests, but the implementation proved extremely difficult (Prior, 1990). The administrators also felt the need for policing with respect to main- taining law and order as Hindu religious institutions resisted their intrusions, challenged them over authority and custodianship of religious places and pilgrimage activity, and used festivals and pil- grimage events to voice opposition to their interference in religious matters and to British rule in general (Prior, 1990).

Thus, new forms of institutional control emerged to regulate pilgrimage activity. The district administration was responsible for managing major pilgrimage events; district officers lead the management committees that comprised local Hindu leaders and

religious functionaries (to overcome the resistance to sanitary measures and ensure smooth passage of the event). The municipal- ity was de facto responsible for providing basic services, maintain- ing hygienic conditions and ensuring law and order related to pilgrim flows in pilgrimage places (Robertson et al., 1913).

The physical landscape of Braj (including Vrindavan) was brought under the confines of Mathura District and the city of Mathura was designated as the Headquarter for the District Administration.8 Municipalities were also established in Mathura and Vrindavan in 1866. One of the earliest District Collectors, who was interested in exploring the sacred territory of Braj, found that the textual descriptions and the existing physical landscape in Braj differed considerably, and that many of the forests mentioned in the texts existed only in name and ‘‘largely resemble[d] a typical jungle’’ (Growse, 1883, p. 72).

Vrindavan was also a forest for namesake; Growse notes that two merchant families owned more than 2/3rd of its area as reve- nue estates. The new patrons had reshaped the fabric of the town by building several grand temples that adopted eclectic and mod- ern styles (Growse, 1883)9 and by investing in other socio-religious

i-

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Fig. 4. Example 2 Temple built by a wealthy merchant in 1870s (colonial period).

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nfrastructure (pilgrim lodges and schools) through their charitable trusts (please refer to Figs. 3 and 4). Civic institutions including the municipality office, veterinary hospital, clinics, and schools also found a place in the landscape. The construction of a new road and railway connecting Vrindavan to Mathura contributed to further in- crease in pilgrimage traffic. On average over 15,000 people attended each of the 40 festivals, and peaks of 40,000 were reached on two an- nual occasions (Drake-Brockman, 1911).

The social milieu was also changing. Alongside Christian mis- sionaries, social reformist movements influenced by western edu- cation and concerned with eradicating practices such as child marriages, widow remarriages, and casteism, had already begun to establish their centers in Vrindavan. The charity and piety of do- nors attracted the elderly, widows, ascetics, beggars and the desti- tute in large numbers (Drake-Brockman, 1911). The striving for hereditary hegemony, the competition amongst religious function- aries for maintaining patronage relationships, and the ‘moral corruption’ of temple custodians and religious gurus were notice- able: ‘‘Beyond the saintliness of their ancestor, but few of them have any claim to respect, either on account of their learning – for the majority of them cannot even read – or for the correctness of their morals’’ (Growse, 1883, p. 217). This was also evident in the several disputes over the property and income of temples that were registered with the District Administration.

To accommodate the influx of patrons and pilgrims and the pro- liferation of socio-religious institutions, physical space was neces- sary. These demands drove the urban expansion of the town and also changed its physical environment, especially visible in the strain on available infrastructure and services. Although the muni- cipal board worked effectively to deal with sanitation problems, conditions deteriorated over time. When the Pilgrim Committee (instituted by British administrators) visited Vrindavan in 1911, they reported:

Throughout the town there is a stench. . .every house has a pri- vate latrine which is apparently never cleaned. The contents of sewage and filth are allowed to decompose naturally, and to ooze into numerous and filthy cesspools found all over the town. . . In the lanes rubbish and filth lie. . . the banks of the river where it has receded from the town are similarly greatly pol- luted (Robertson et al., 1913, p. 128).

The report further added that inadequate pilgrim facilities had led to environmental degradation and suggested installing a drain- age system. The already brackish water in the wells was ‘‘polluted from their proximity to privies or cesspools’’ (Robertson et al., 1913, p. 129). Administrators repeatedly stressed the need to maintain the pilgrimage sites by making religious functionaries

Fig. 3. Example 1 Temple built by a wealthy merchant in 1860s (colonial period).

pay for the infrastructure through some form of licensing and tax- ation. However, such appeals deepened the existing antagonism between administrators and religious functionaries.

At the turn of the 20th century, Vrindavan was an urban settle- ment of more than 21,000 residents, a thousand temples (of which many were ‘‘merely private chapels’’), 57 neighbourhoods, 32 riv- er-side ghats, and a large floating population of visitors, and yet it was still ‘‘maintained entirely by its temples and religious repu- tation’’ (Growse, 1883, p. 266) (refer Map 3). This religious-urban space was shaped by the needs for religious and social investments of a wealthy patronizing class, demands for accommodation con- comitant with increased pilgrims flows, and emergence of several civic and urban institutions which occasionally collided with reli- gious authorities. Regardless of this urban expansion, it was the religious infrastructure and continuity of pilgrimage performances that reinforced Vrindavan’s image as an eternal abode of Krishna. However, in this environment there were fewer, if any, woodlands from the Krishna legend. Moreover, as an urban place in the phys- ical sense, the town was fraught with environmental problems. This landscape changed even more dramatically in the post-colo- nial period as the rulers left India with institutional mechanisms that had significant impacts on the pilgrimage economy and pil- grimage sites.

3.3. Post-colonial period

With independence in 1947, India ushered in an era of unprec- edented change. Of many changes, only those socio-economic and

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Map 3. The urban settlement of Vrindavan in the late 19th century.

10 The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) 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.

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political factors that were directly significant for pilgrimage sites are discussed here. Among social reforms, the policies of Abolition of Zamindari [landlord system] Act and Abolition of Privy Purse (Bard- han, 1984) were important in influencing patronage relationships. The first was the means to transfer land ownership from non-cul- tivating and absentee landlords to ‘tillers of the land’. The second abolished royal titles, privy purses and privileges, and reduced the rulers of the Princely States to the constitutional status of com- mon citizens of India (Balzani, 2003). With fewer sources of in- come, these traditional elites found it difficult to maintain the religious establishments and patronage they once offered (Joshi, 1968). Moreover, in many states, institutions such as Temple Boards and Departments of Religious Endowments and Charities (constituted by state governments) took control of temples and religious institutions but these institutions were capable neither of maintaining the religious infrastructure nor of investing in the cultural life of pilgrimage centres (Presler, 1987).

The political economy, driven by the state, led to the emergence of new forms of patronage from three proprietary classes: rich farmers who benefited from land reforms, industrialists and large family businesses that had expanded under protectionist economic policies, and white-collar professionals who commanded good sal- aries, benefits, and stable employment in government and public sector agencies (Bardhan, 1984). From within these ranks there also emerged the burgeoning ‘educated Indian middle class’ and newer forms of religiosity.

A significant influence on contemporary religiosity was exer- cised by the seekers who were disappointed with the culture of Western consumerism and showed interest in seeking spiritual

help from Indian gurus (Lochtefeld, 1992). The numbers of charis- matic gurus who were willing to provide a ‘‘religion of choice’’ for satisfying the search for self-identity and the ‘‘spiritual striving of the urban middle class’’ began to grow (Warrier, 2004, p. 14). By establishing charitable trusts, they attracted wealthy devotees to their fold and sought their donations to build ashrams t (Sundar, 2002). New technologies of mass communication also fuelled the business of religious devotion: television, print media, and the Internet have helped revive some traditional practices, and trans- formed others including virtual temples, virtual pilgrimage rituals, and virtual blessings (Harman, 2004).

These broader socio-economic processes contributed to dra- matic qualitative and quantitative changes in pilgrimage travel (Kaur, 1985; Singh, 2002). In 2002, more than 100 million people travelled to various religious events, temples and pilgrimage sites. A substantial proportion were short-term trips and/or some form of package tour undertaken by middle and upper-income groups (NCAER, 2003).10

Vrindavan mirrored these wider trends. From a modest 5000 annual visitors in 1950, the number increased to more than 6 mil- lion in 2005. One of the reasons for the dramatic increase was the establishment of the (International Society for Krishna Conscious-

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124 K.A. Shinde / Geoforum 43 (2012) 116–127

ness (ISKCON) temple in 1970s, which triggered a trail of foreign- ers and urban visitors from nearby cities.11 The increasing impor- tance of Braj and its potential for cultural tourism was also realized in the state government’s tourism policy. The changing trends in religiosity, transnationalisation and democratization of religious patronage, and the promotion of cultural tourism, signifi- cantly reshaped Vrindavan’s pilgrimage economy and its socio-spa- tial organization (Shinde, 2008).

The primary motivation for visits to Vrindavan continues to be devotees’ faith in Krishna: the belief that Krishna resides in Vrind- avan and that goswamis and gurus can help them access this divine presence. In pursuit of this goal, devotees perform most traditional rituals including darshan, aarti, feasts, festivals, and performances of kathas, ras-lilas and yatra (described in Section 3.1). However, substantial changes in contemporary patterns of visitation are also observed. A survey of visitors conducted by the author in 2005 re- vealed that repeat visitation was high (about 80% of respondents) and that the main motive of most visitors was darshan of Krishna at different temples. However, there was little emphasis on follow- ing the traditions: about 50% of those visiting the temple did not wait to attend the worship rituals, nor intend to perform pilgrim- age rituals; only 20% attended the ceremonial prayers performed at the temples; and less than 10% had undertaken the customary circumambulation. Similarly, only 10% had relied on the services of pandas or local guides during their trip. A majority of visitors thought of Krishna as a ‘wish-fulfilling’ god and that it was conve- nient to get to Vrindavan from the nearby centers such as Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra on a weekend (Shinde, 2008).

The new social and economic environment for religious tourism forced many traditional religious actors and service providers to modify their roles and develop new strategies of religious entre- preneurship to remain competitive (Entwistle, 1987; Shinde, 2010). Such transformations are evident in most spheres of pil- grimage performances; examples include the packaging of exclu- sive and comfortable pilgrimage tours of Braj by car,12

performances of kathas by religious story tellers in a way similar to organized paid concerts,13 maintaining websites that provide downloadable lectures, devotional songs, and Krishna stories, and even offering a virtual circumambulation of Vrindavan through the website.14 The commoditization of religion, increasing individual- ized patronage and the lack of control or regulation of religious ser- vice providers has generated a ‘‘free-market’’ like situation.

The free market that is evident in the social sphere is also re- flected in the spatial field. The town has undergone substantial physical expansion in the last three decades mainly due to chang- ing equations of demand and supply of land, the physical resource, necessary for development of infrastructure for both pilgrimage and religious tourism economy. The supply of land increased mainly due to the Zamindari Abolition Act under which most land holdings endowed to temples were redistributed to the tenants,

11 The religious movement of ISKCON was started by Srila Prabhupad, a Vaishn guru (from Vrindavan) to revive the Krishna bhakti tradition in the western w (Brooks, 1992). The presence of ISKCON is in several countries with numer temples and ashrams and most of its members often aim to visit Vrindavan to s blessings of the founder and experience the divinity of Krishna.

12 There are roughly 30–40 Braj such car-tours organized by goswamis at diffe times of the year; the largest one was organized in 2005 with 2000 participants in cars and 10 buses.

13 One such itinerary includes a month-long tour of Indian cities includ Jalandhar, Delhi, Jaipur, and then a 2-month long tour of UK, Switzerland, Italy Belgium. This tour is followed by another round of domestic destinations such Govardhan, Kolkatta, Jaipur, Mumbai, and Ludhiana before heading to Kenya f fortnight of katha performance.

14 See the following websites for details of these entrepreneurial ventu www.gauranga.org; www.vrindavan.com; www.mvtindia.com/parikrama.htm.

ava orld ous eek

rent 150

ing and

as or a

res:

who in turn sold them.15 Land previously owned by princely states and subsequently belonging to remote state departments became accessible and targeted for squatter settlements (Sharan, 1995). Alongside the demand for land surged multifold. Building of ashrams became an important driving force as many new age gurus with their foreign and urban devotees flocked to Vrindavan. The large numbers of registered charities and religious trusts that proliferated also required land. A catalyst in the process was the creation of Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority (MVDA), a state spon- sored institution whose responsibility is to plan and direct all urban development in the Braj Region.16 By developing townships and res- idential layouts MVDA accelerated the pace of land conversion. Indi- viduals and private investors from larger cities purchased these properties and either developed them themselves or sold them, highlighting the lifestyle and privileges of owning spiritual retreat in the sacred environs of Vrindavan. One example of signage adver- tised by a developer read:

‘‘Welcome to this holy land of Lord Krishna. Holy forest plots for sale!

Freehold residential complex in very peaceful and tranquility [sic] atmosphere’’ (Dasa 1992, p. 27 cited in Sullivan (1998, p. 253)).

In a recent article, Jha (2007) provides a snapshot of the real es- tate development:

There are two types of buyers, one which has only holidaying in mind and the other, senior citizens, intending to spend the twi- light of their life in serene atmosphere. . ..appetite for modern living in tranquil environs of Mathura-Vrindavan is clearly evi- dent from the growing demand for residential properties (para 7, 13).

It is this rapidly developing, yet poorly regulated, ‘free-for-all’ market that now characterizes Vrindavan. A long time resident scholar observes:

Vrindavan is a congested, noisy, densely populated town of neglected archaeological and archival assets with little green cover. Crime, tension and distress have supplanted the religious and spiritual ambience. . .wealth is being freely invested in property and real estate (Sharan, 1995, p. 3).

This remark indicates a popular perception amongst the ortho- dox community that a religious and spiritual ambience that once existed in the past is now being compromised. However, such expressions fail to recognize that these socio-spatial changes are closely tied to contemporary religious travel. More individualized religious patronage accompanied with recreational needs provides opportunities for service providers who may not necessarily be from the religious sphere. While tourism operators take care of the package tours and travel arrangements, and global food chains (Pizza Huts and McDonalds) serve global cuisine, builders and developers provide the necessary accommodation facilities in modern ashrams, luxury apartments, and hotels. Although tourism and economy have always been central to pilgrimage sites, now a new kind of space – associated with leisure and tourism consump- tion – is being produced. Map 4 illustrates the physical expansion of the settlement. However, the spatial expansion that has taken

15 One temple had endowments of over ‘‘ten whole villages and parts of fifteen others’’ within the district and 23 villages outside the district (Drake-Brockman, 1911).

16 Its planning jurisdiction extends over roughly 215 square kilometres of Mathura district and includes the urban municipalities of Mathura and Vrindavan and about 90 rural settlements.

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Map 4. The urban expansion of Vrindavan 1970-present.

Fig. 5. Present day riverside as it exists in derelict conditions.

17 Environmental problems that are of regional nature and have little bearing on, or connection with Vrindavan’s pilgrimage economy are not a focus in this paper. For example, the regional problem of abatement of pollution in the Yamuna River is not included here as it is addressed by the central government agencies through the national level Yamuna Action Plan. The Plan was an outcome of environmental activism and judicial intervention but its success is highly debated (for details see Haberman, 2006).

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place without adequate infrastructure and services has also accel- erated the rate of degradation of the physical environment in Vrindavan.

The lack of infrastructure and environmental services is most acute. The municipal waterworks was established in 1940 but it is unable to provide adequate water supply for the increased pop- ulation (of residents and visitors) (Sharan, 1995). The system of sewage disposal through surface drains is near collapse (Haber- man, 2006; Joshi, 1968). Most new residential developments including multi-storied buildings have adopted the convenient op- tion of disposing their sewerage into the ground by digging deep bore wells, which is contaminating soil and groundwater. The sew-

age problem is aggravated during major festivals, when many open areas become sites for defecation due to lack of public toilets. An- other prominent problem is of solid waste; one NGO claimed, ‘‘Vrindavan is sinking beneath its own effluent’’ (FoV, 1998, p. 11) (please refer to Fig. 5). These problems, as much they are re- lated to urban expansion and visitor flows, are also related to the deeper issues of inadequate institutional arrangements that exist for the management of the environment.

Most responsibility for the protection and management of the environment is attributed to the state government through its agencies including the Department of Environment, Forest Depart- ment, Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Con- trol Board, and Uttar Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation.17

A close reading of their mandates and interviews with the officials from these agencies reveals that they work independently of each other, pursuing their own objectives and leaving out pilgrimage re- lated environmental issues. They believe that such responsibilities are vested with the local level government, including the District Administration, MVDA and Vrindavan municipality. At present, the colonial model of managing pilgrimage as a series of events has con- tinued: officials from District administration and state agencies are delegated additional periodic duties for policing and for ensuring

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126 K.A. Shinde / Geoforum 43 (2012) 116–127

adequate sanitation during pilgrimage events (Sharan, 1995). The distinctive environmental problems related to and driven by pil- grimage are poorly addressed due to the existing confusion regard- ing institutional responsibility and jurisdictional authority, which is neither shouldered by a single government agency nor articulated across different departments. The institutional vacuum in respond- ing to environmental problems produces a range of discourses about the present situation in Vrindavan; the stark contrast with its mythological origin is one of them.

4. Making of the pilgrimage landscape and environmental change

The preceding section has demonstrated how contemporary environmental problems are deeply embedded in a long trajectory of environmental change. The brief history of socio-spatial change that accompanied the making of Vrindavan as a place of pilgrimage highlights the critical importance of three interrelated factors in this process. These are: pilgrimage practice (travel and perfor- mance) and its metaphysical experiences, patronage relationships that define investments in religious establishments (temples and ashrams) in shaping the physical landscape, and the institutions that emerge from and regulate the other two. All these factors are influenced by broader social, political and economic processes taking place within and externally to the site.

From a mythical concept Vrindavan became a geographic reality largely due to the context and opportunity provided by the socio- religious reforms of the 15th century. While Vaishnava poet-saints translated the ideology of bhakti movement through the practice of pilgrimage, patronage from the Mughal court ensured that this practice was embodied in the symbolic and metaphorical struc- tures of the temples. The pilgrimage landscape was an outcome of the conjunction of ideology and practice in time and space. While the origins of Vrindavan may have been in a forest-kind of landscape, at no point in its history was it a forest in the true sense.

At the root of the environmental change in Vrindavan is the need to maintain the sacred image of the place. This need is artic- ulated through the pilgrimage economy, patronage relationships and religious investments of ‘‘the wealthier and more leisured members’’ (Tanner and Mitchell, 2002, p. 64); be it the 18th cen- tury Hindu kings, elites from the commercial aristocracy of colonial period, or new patrons from the contemporary middle class. Patrons appropriated the natural landscape for their spiritual, reli- gious, and recreational needs. In the process, different meanings were attributed to the ‘‘environment’’. For instance, colonial administrators considered the environment through utilitarian and scientific perspectives and managed pilgrimage events. This meaning focused on dealing with the urban environment and was distanced from the ‘religious’ and ‘sacred’ value that had been at the core of the pilgrimage place. Such conceptualizations were embedded in prevailing socio-religious customs and political and economic conditions.

The existing pilgrimage landscape is being again redefined by contemporary patterns of pilgrimage travel, which exhibit a bur- geoning touristic orientation. While some scholars and communi- ties consider catering to tourism demands as a violation of the sanctity of traditional pilgrimage and the sacred landscape, it is necessary to rethink such criticisms as the ritualised pilgrimage economy has metamorphosed into what can be called religious tourism. Even in religious tourism people visit Vrindavan because they believe in Krishna and his mythology and are motivated by the expectation of a spiritual experience. While the means to achieve their goals may have changed, their reverence for the pil- grimage site has not reduced. It is important to recognize that car- based travel and weekend getaways for religious tourism demand

different kinds of built structures and therefore the addition of guesthouses, hotels and restaurants to the landscape should not be viewed with surprise and condemnation.

The spatial arrangement of the town illustrated in the three maps (Map 2–4) indicate that the settlement of Vrindavan ex- panded concentrically outwards from a core deemed to be sacred owing to the presence there of older temples, religious institutions and the neighbourhoods of the hegemonic Goswami lineages. Although the peripheral areas are dotted with ashrams, most of these are modern structures operating mainly as accommodation facilities for the donors/visitors who sponsored their construction and therefore exhibit a residential character rather than a religious landscape. The real estate development in these areas comprises spiritual resorts, apartments, holiday homes, and townships. While these additions may not be perceived as religious or sacred in the conventional use of the word, they are serving the religious tourism economy. However, the ‘‘free-market’’ nature of these socio-spatial changes raises questions about who should respond to them.

The brief history provided above also suggests that the control and authority exercised by different institutions (or lack thereof) is critical to the management of the pilgrimage environment. The patronage relationships between royal families and religious functionaries ensured that private and communal religious estab- lishments were maintained. Although public space may have be- longed to one king, charities from other royal patrons provided for the infrastructure – social and physical – needed for religious and cultural practices. Colonial administrators privatised landed properties and brought public space under civic administration, which led to the fragmentation of the authority necessary to effec- tively manage the environment in which pilgrimage was practised. Their institutions to deal with the physical environment collided with the religious and cultural understanding of the environment and these fissures continued to exist even after the colonial admin- istrators left. Moreover, government institutions established after independence have not addressed the pilgrimage economy and its impacts on the physical and socio-cultural environment. An institu- tional vacuum regarding control and authority over the religious- urban space of Vrindavan contributes to the process of environ- mental degradation.

5. Conclusion

This paper has explored the social, cultural, political and reli- gious construction of a Hindu pilgrimage site. Through the study of Vrindavan, it has demonstrated how the process of place-mak- ing in itself constitutes the trajectory of environmental change in a pilgrimage site. The faith of devotees in maintaining these places as sacred is central to this process: they travel to these places to fulfill their religious and spiritual needs, perform pilgrimage ritu- als, invest in symbolic structures, and as patrons along with other social actors contribute in making the environment. However, these needs are manifested differently in different time periods and therefore it is necessary to rethink the issues surrounding the physical environment that arise over time, especially when pil- grimage sites are used for multiple purposes including pilgrimage and tourism.

An attempt has been made in this paper to move beyond the conventional approaches in the literature on the environment and pilgrimage sites, which is seemingly polarized between documenting the environmental problems only (in physical envi- ronment studies) or examining socio-cultural constructs that emphasize the transcendence and otherworldly quality of sacred space (in the anthropological literature). This polarization has of- ten presented obstacles in dealing with environmental problems. A reconciliation of these two approaches is achieved by using the

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concept of socio-spatial dialectic and its analysis through the historical geography approach (Harvey, 2002). The historical geog- raphy approach helps to relate dominant political and socio-eco- nomic currents particular to a historical period and moments with their reflections and imprints on the landscape and the phys- ical environment and this process underlines the making of the place. Thus, by charting the history of environmental change, it has been possible to identify significant stages of socio-spatial transformation and their connections to the contemporary envi- ronmental problems. In so doing some insights have also been of- fered on the changing notions of the sacred character of the place and how they generate contradictory tensions regarding defining the terms ‘environment’ and ‘environmental problems’.

Charting the historical development of institutional arrange- ments has drawn attention to their important role in either reduc- ing or exacerbating the intensity and pace of environmental change in pilgrimage sites. While quantification of environmental impacts may be a first step in managing the physical environment in pilgrimage places but more research is needed on institutional structures and how they negotiate environmental responsibilities. Similarly, further exploration of the perceptions and attitudes of different social actors (local, domestic, and foreign) towards the environmental change is necessary for better understanding of dif- ferent meanings of the environment, and how that may influence their participation in improving the environmental situation in a pilgrimage site.

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