Theses and Dissertations

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  • ItemOpen Access
    In Search of Buddhist Gujarat between Rhetoric and Reality
    (Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, 2018) Sheth, Aarsh; Singh, Saurabh; Mazumdar, Madhumita; Pandya, Vishvajit
    It is for the last few years that the state of Gujarat is suddenly being promoted internationally as a Buddhist heritage destination. Several Buddhist heritage sites were identified at an international seminar in the year 2010 as tourist and pilgrim destinations. In a high profile promotional blitz that included a revamped Gujarat Tourism website, brochures and a much popular tourism promotional film featuring the celebrity actor Amitabh Bachchan, the Gujarat government under the then Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi claimed that Buddhism had as much a presence in Gujarat as that in Bihar. This project was inspired by the compelling power of this tourism ad campaign and sought to follow the Buddhist heritage trail in Gujarat and see how these sites were perceived by followers of Buddhism on the one hand and by locals on the other. The objective was to understand how heritage promotion initiatives from the state resonated in actual social contexts and how tourism promotion rhetoric matched up with the reality on the ground. We went on a quest to discover this new dimension of Gujarat. We visited some of the sites only to realize that there is actually no movement in terms of the development of any of the presented sites as tourist destinations since the year 2010. Employing ethnographic methods and together with historical, political and sociological literature, we tried to understand the reality of Buddhist tourism in Gujarat, not as part of a broader religious or historical movement but rather as an “Invented tradition” created and promoted by the imperatives of tourism and politics.
  • ItemOpen Access
    insideSehrana - a Story of Sahariya Tribe
    (Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, 2017) Gupta, Kunal; Pandya, Vishwajit
    The people of `Sahariya’s’ tribe never used to bother about their future, because they were confident that forests, which they respect and protect, would never leave them hungry. However, the other groups of Society have exploited the forests to the tilt, for meeting their own self-interests. Consequently, the only source providing the food security to the families of `Sahariya’s’ tribe has been irretrievably damaged. Not only other societies but government has also banned NTFP consumption. Left with no alternative, the people of `Sahariya’s’ tribe had to look out for labour work in the local stone mines, construction sites, small manufacturing industries, government daily based contractual work, small merchant shops or gathering herbs to earn their livelihood. Slowly and slowly, they were becoming a tool of exploitation in the wider perspective of our social system. Caught within the web of constant shrinking of forests and strict provisions of various forestry laws, the people of “Sahariya tribe” were left to face an unending state of hunger. Not even the symptoms of guaranteed basic rights of human being i.e. Respectability, Equality and Education, as enshrined in our constitution, are visible in this area and neither these people have any high expectations from the society, law and constitution.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Devo athithi bhava-athithi devo bhava: an event where God come in as guest and guest comes as God
    (Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, 2009) Sharma, Neha; Pandya, Vishvajit
    “Devo Athithi Bhava, Athithi Devo Bhava” is an exploration of a unique cultural phenomenon which leads to social, political and economical context of the place. It focuses on the festival “Dusshera in Kullu” where the Gods come as guests. The tourists i.e. guests who visit the place are also treated like God to the place. Project is basically to promote ‘Tourism in Kullu’ which is further exploration of not only the ‘unique way of celebrating this festival but also communicates the “Impact of culture tourism” on and by the people of Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. It invites the user to explore not only the culture and belief of the festival in the context of its celebration but also to assist the viewer to know about the local people and the place, where tourism potential provides the State, the tourist as well as the local people benefit, by organizing such culturally accepted festivals and events. Tourists are derived of opportunities to enjoy the rural, remote and the most scenic parts of the state due to lack of awareness. Thus, project explores them to find other places in the district those have equal cultural tourism potential. It generates critical awareness among the tourist who are visiting the place to get authentic information about the event. It also gives information to the viewer about the culture diversity in India and gives knowledge of the tradition of celebrating dusshera festival in various parts of the country in different ways with independent history related to it.