Religious Tourism in India | Government Initiatives

The Tourism Department of the Government of India finally seems to have woken up to the potential the sector offers. The Ministry of Tourism finally cleared (as of July 2016) projects worth INR 1,500 crores as part of its focus on religious tourism. The projects identified include:

• The Ramayana Circuit
• The Krishna Circuit and
• The Buddhist Circuit

The projects are primarily spread across the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Centrally funded, these projects will be helmed by the Department of Tourism, Government of India and will include things like infrastructure development, road and rail linkages, tourist facilitation centers, hygiene facilities, security and CCTV facilities and even Wi-Fi!

An interesting aspect is the proposal to develop and sustain permanent displays that showcase the life and times of the era. It will be interesting to see how this shapes up. The details of the various projects are as follows:

Ramayana Circuit

Based primarily in the historic city of Ayodhya, this circuit will be focused on creating an audio-visual tableau depicting the life and teaching of Lord Rama. Some details which have been revealed include a gallery-based display that features life-sized sculptures of Valmiki and Tulsidas.

Krishna Circuit

The Krishna circuit will feature several cities identified with the life and times of Lord Krishna. These include (among others)Mathura and Vrindavan. The project proposal describes the creation of Yatri (tourist) sheds, food kiosks, audio-visual shows as well as well-lit Parikrama (circumambulation) paths.

Buddhist Circuit

Considering that India is the birthplace of Lord Buddha and the religion he founded, it is heartening to note that the projects also include a Buddhist circuit. Based in Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh, this will include the creation of a audio-visual led theme park. Sizable numbers of pilgrims come from South and South East Asian countries to visit the birthplace of the Buddha and this will provide them with much to see and do.

It is notable that these projects have been approved in line with the Tourism Ministry’s promise of development of Religious Tourism in India on the back of last year’s “Swadesh Darshan” and “Prasad” Schemes. While “Swadesh Darshan” was to be focused on the creation and development of theme-based Tourist circuits, “Prasad”, was a National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive.

• For information on the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, please visit this link
• For information on the Prasad Scheme, please visit this link 

Disclaimer: The announcements and subsequent details have been gleaned from publicly available news and information sites. It is recommended that readers of this blog make their own enquiries to determine the current status and specific details.