Modernity in The Shadows of An Ancient Past: Architecture and Religious Nationalism in Banaras (1905-2019)
This thesis, through historical and qualitative analysis, demonstrates the ways in which architecture acts as a political tool in establishing national identity based on religious foundations. This is investigated through changes in the built environment of Banaras from the early 20th century to the present. Banaras, an ancient city with deep-rooted religious significance, is often imagined as a foundational site for Hinduism in India, despite evidence of an intertwined Islamic past. Through three selected case study sites that give a comprehensive idea of the traditional historic fabric of the city, it is observed that architecture often articulates the religious manifestations that are politically constructed to establish a national identity. This research further reveals that hybridization of architecture with indigenous and Western styles gives the built environment an appearance of modernity while also holding on to ideas of an authentic national culture. The chronology of the case-studies expresses the evolution from being an
indigenous architectural language that incorporates Euro-American modernity to becoming a global spectacle that puts the nation on the world map. In conclusion, the thesis demonstrates conflicting images of the built environment caused by politically construed selective amnesia or, at times, reconstruction of the religious past. It as well emphasizes the obscuring of antiquity with the addition of forms derived from global trends of architecture and planning. While it broaches substantial loss of place-identity, architecture acts as a medium for establishing religious nationalism in the global forms.
Advisers/Committee
