IIT Bhubaneswar organizes talk on ‘Religion, History and Identity: The Making of Heritage-scape of Sacred Cities’

Bhubaneswar : Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar has organised a talk on ‘Religion, History and Identity: The Making of Heritage-Scape of Sacred Cities’ by Prof. Pralay Kanungo, Leiden University, the Netherlands. Formerly a Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has rich experience and knowledge in the fields of religion and politics, Hinduism/Public Hinduism, Hindu Nationalism, Urbanity and religion, Indian democracy, social, cultural and political history Odisha, Hindu diaspora and India-China connection.
In his talk, Prof. Kanungo said: “Heritage is a complex and contested concept with multiple meanings and manifestations. The interplay of religion, history and identity, from ancient to the contemporary, has made up the heritage-scape of cities like Varanasi, Hardwar, Ayodhya and Puri. Religion, in its aspects as performance, spectacle, and everyday life-practice, is at the core of this urban configuration. Heritage of the many sacred cities is Hindu and non-Hindu, Brahmanical and subaltern, natural and built, tangible and intangible, performative and experiential. The discourse of heritage formation reveals how dominant actors and agencies, at different times, used religion, ideology and power to destroy and create heritage, shaping the contours of heritage-scape through myth and event, text and context, rituals and everyday life, erasure and re-invention.”
At the outset, Prof. Chandi Prasad Nanda, Director, Odisha Research Centre, (ORC) Bhubaneswar briefed the audience about the major goals of ORC.
A large number of students, faculty members and employees of the Institute attended this programme. Among others, Shri Bamadev Acharya, Registrar was present on the occasion. Dr. Vijayakrishna Kari, Professor-in-Charge (Seminar) coordinated the programme.