Black Mountain: The politicisation of a pilgrimage site in western India

Abstract

A once unremarkable site of multi-faith pilgrimage to a Sufi Saint has been transformed and its local history rewritten - this thesis presents a case study of research undertaken around the pilgrimage site of Kalo Dungar or Black Mountain, which is situated in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, India. It is based on traditional anthropological participant-observation fieldwork, as well as on library and archival research. The research is presented in the methodological framework of ‘ethnography as methodology’; this has enabled the researcher to present a linear journey reflecting the research process. A key element of this presentation, as well as the text of this doctoral thesis, is a film (DVD), Black Mountain. Both text and film suggest that the pilgrimage site of Kalo Dungar provides a micro-example of current issues in India today by highlighting the development of politically motivated religious orthodoxy across India; and that the nature of Kalo Dungar has been altered due to Hindu right-wing religio-political interests and actions, as is vividly demonstrated in the film. It is argued, by using theoretical insights gained by critically examining the cyclical process of syncretism and anti-syncretism, that this trend is aiding the slow break-down of communal harmony and of syncretic and pluralistic practices.