Representative dissonance in heritage tourism in India

The debate surrounding the role of tourism in the renegotiation of history has gained much importance recently. Several scholars have argued that heritage tourism may be important in creating national identity. As ethnically diverse societies have the tendency for fragmentation, heritage tourism has arguably emerged as a privileged tool for states to disseminate a shared cultural identity with their citizens. The increasing popularity of heritage creates conflicts over its representation. So, there are disputes over whose heritage should be preserved and made available for touristic consumption. Thus, heritage tourism is highly political in which dominant narratives of history, culture and identity are always disputed.; Since India's independence in 1947 from Britain, the Governments of the country have tried to build a sense of 'nation' by uniting the diverse groups of the country. However, identity in India has centered around smaller groups based on religion, culture and language, of which, religion is the most prominent. Although several scholars have claimed that the representation of heritage encompasses several agents who interact to co-construct a representation of the past, with a few valuable exceptions, scholars have only considered one voice in investigations of tourism representations. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore: (1) What heritage of six major religions (i.e., Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain) in India is represented to domestic tourists by the three Indian tourism representations (i.e., Indian Government, Indian Trade, and Indian Public)? and (2) What are the differences, if they exist? A three year time frame from March 2002--June 2005 was selected for this study. The data were examined using content analysis.; The study produced several insights into how tourism is interconnected with socio-political dynamics governing India's contemporary state and society. There were four similarities in the three representations. First, all representations celebrated India's glorious past as a Hindu "Golden Age." Second, the blend of different religions was heavily emphasized. Third, all representations portrayed the suffering from Muslim tyranny. Fourth, all representations highlighted atrocities of Colonial rulers. However, there was one difference in the three representations. The Indian Government resisted the Colonial influence but the other two representations did not.; The Indian Government and Indian Tourism Industry harmoniously represented the heritage of India. As there was no significant difference in the three representations, it can be argued that the mythmaking by the Indian Government promotes dominant nationalist ideologies, which are well accepted by the tourism industry that needs these myths to sell heritage attractions. This study revealed that the Indian government's efforts to build an Indian national identity are inextricably linked to a Hindu national identity. Thus, it can be argued that political identity building in the name of religion is more important in India than national identity building.