Initiatives to Promote Religious Tourism

India is a young nation. It also seems to be aspiring to be a modern nation in the post-modern age but it harbours an ancient but still thriving civilisation with its timeless ethos and values.

- Jhuma Biswas

It is a country where the religious resonance is an integral part of our five millennia-old cultural legacy. There is no denying the fact that religion with its mythological hues is one of the major cementing forces behind the edifice of Indian civilisation. Most major religions of the world, such as Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, and Judaism are being enthusiastically practiced in the pluralistic cultural milieu of India. They are all embraced by India’s pluralistic cultural heritage.

What is more important is that even in the twenty-first century IT-powered India, which seems to be obsessed with cricket, Bollywood and social media, the influence of religion is very much evident among its teeming millions. This enduring influence of religion in our society is being often misused by cunning charlatans, fake godmen and opportunistic politicians, but there is no denying the fact that the influence of religion in India’s pluralistic socio-cultural environment has immense potential for India’s tourism and hospitality industry. In fact, religious tourism is one of the core strengths of the tourism industry of India.

Religious Resonance