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Industrialisation of Rivers:A Sacred and Profane Approach


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1 Department of Sociology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, India
     

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The process of industrialization has resulted in spread and dissemination of science and practical knowledge that has attacked religion and superstition. The miracles of holy rivers have been gradually replaced by scientific explanations. This paper explores the nuances that industrialization is mired with, in relation to the rivers, associated large infrastructure and rivers attributed sacredness. The paper uses the case of river Kshipra flowing in the city of Ujjain to explain the shifting attribution of ‘sacred’ from natural things like rivers to materialistic things like money. The paper discusses the change in the significance of river during a world famous festival of Hindus for holy dip Simhastha. The paper explains the shift in focus of Simhastha from holy dip to space allocation, crowd control, unchecked competition and crass commercialization. It explains using the theory of sacred and profane of Durkheim and Eliade, how in the modern time's secularisation of religion and sacralisation of secular has created the sacred/profane distinction which is making the rivers only the source for consumption forgetting their actual significance.

Keywords

Ujjain City, Kshipra River, Sacred and Profane, Hindu Religion, Simhastha.
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  • Industrialisation of Rivers:A Sacred and Profane Approach

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Authors

Neha Singh
Department of Sociology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, India
Neeraj Mishra
Department of Sociology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, India

Abstract


The process of industrialization has resulted in spread and dissemination of science and practical knowledge that has attacked religion and superstition. The miracles of holy rivers have been gradually replaced by scientific explanations. This paper explores the nuances that industrialization is mired with, in relation to the rivers, associated large infrastructure and rivers attributed sacredness. The paper uses the case of river Kshipra flowing in the city of Ujjain to explain the shifting attribution of ‘sacred’ from natural things like rivers to materialistic things like money. The paper discusses the change in the significance of river during a world famous festival of Hindus for holy dip Simhastha. The paper explains the shift in focus of Simhastha from holy dip to space allocation, crowd control, unchecked competition and crass commercialization. It explains using the theory of sacred and profane of Durkheim and Eliade, how in the modern time's secularisation of religion and sacralisation of secular has created the sacred/profane distinction which is making the rivers only the source for consumption forgetting their actual significance.

Keywords


Ujjain City, Kshipra River, Sacred and Profane, Hindu Religion, Simhastha.

References