The Revival of Buddhist Pilgrimage at Bodh Gaya: (1811-1949)

Alan Trevithick spent three years researching primary documents in New Delhi, Sarnath, Colombo, and London, in order to present this history (1874-1949) of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya. This is the first such account, and it details for the first time the administrative, legal and legislative activities which shaped the temple’s current status as one of the world’s most popular pilgrimage sites. Also included is an innovative biographical essay on Anagarika Dharmapala, the Sinhalese activist who first came to India in the late 19th century as a guest of the Theosohical society: his subsequent actions substantially affected the development of Bodh Gaya as a site of international importance.

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About the Author(s)

Alan Trevithick is Adjunct Associate Professor of anthropology at the State University of New York (Suny) at Stony Brook and also teaches anthropology and sociology at Suny, Westchester. He holds an M.A. in South Asian Studies from the University of Wisconsin, where he was awarded the B.K. Roy Prize for South Asia Essays. His Ph.D. in Anthropology is from Harvard University. He has been a Fulbright and Knox Memorial Fellow, and has published articles on Indian topics in the Journal Modern Asian Studies (Cambridge University) and elsewhere.