Abstract
Temples of Goa have played a very vital role as symbols of cultural resistance to the Portuguese hegemony. In the post-liberation era, these temples have been integrated into the national pilgrimage networks and as such receive a large inflow of not only the Goan diaspora, spread far and wide in the country, but also tourists. Some of these temples have also found their way onto the international tourist circuit. Owing to this dimension, most of the major temples of the state have registered immense financial growth and their net yearly incomes exceed 10 million INR. Managements of some temples have been proactive in exploring new avenues of income generation for their respective temples, while others have not shown any substantial inclination towards amplifying their sources of income. However, there is a dearth of organized efforts, on part of temple management and the state government, to evolve a strategic plan to use the religious and cultural phenomena associated with these temples to ensure economic regeneration of the local communities and thereby facilitate economic and cultural enrichment of the state. This paper probes the possibility of temples playing a key role, along with the state government, in generating sustainable growth and development of local communities, that are slowly loosing their livelihoods in this age of modernization.
Author Information
Padmaja Kamat, PES Shri Ravi Sitaram Naik College of Arts & Science, India
Comments
Powered by WP LinkPress