The ritual of parikramā, Hinduization of space and the case of Ayodhyā

Abstract

The article looks at the uses of the concept of parikramā (circumambulation of a sacred spot) in the 2019 Supreme Court of India judgement on the Ayodhyā dispute and its aftermath. It unpacks the Hindu majoritarian refashioning of a well-established ritual of place by analyzing the judgement and the subsequent mobilization of parikramās by the Uttar Pradesh Government in tourist and pilgrimage initiatives in Ayodhyā. The article argues that parikramā has been used in Ayodhyā to legitimate claims that, not only the so-called ‘disputed site’ but the whole city, constitute an exclusively Hindu sacred space. The article foregrounds the importance of parikramās in the Hinduization of space and points at the cross-fertilization of rituals of place with legal discourses on places of worship. It suggests that, in the aftermath of the 2019 judgement, more attention should be paid to the role of parikramās in ongoing majoritarian redefinition, expansion and control of sacred space.