Table of contents
Undertaking V
Certificate VII
Acknowledgements IX
Abstract XI
Table of contents XIII
List of figures XV
List of tables XVII
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Research aim and objectives 2
1.3 Why study religious shrine spaces in a Hindu dominant caste neighbourhood? 3
1.4 This study and religious shrines 4
1.5 Key findings 4
1.6 Research scope and limitations 5
2. Situating the research within the larger body of work 7
2.1 Reviewing literature on religious shrine spaces 7
2.2 Brower’s Occupancy of Space theory 9
2.3 Religious shrine spaces as stabilised territorial productions 10
2.4 Diagrammatic summary 11
3. Research Methodology 13
3.1 Selecting research setting 13
3.2 Rajkot city and the selected area 15
3.3 Primary methods 16
3.4 Selected religious shrine spaces and data collection process at each shrine space 18
3.4.1 Data collection at arterial road shrine 20
3.4.2 Data collection at the residential setting shrine 20
3.4.3 Data collection at collector road shrine 21
3.5 Diagrammatic summary 22
4. Unpacking religious shrine spaces in dominant caste neighbourhood 23
4.1 Religious shrine spaces challenging urban planning apparatus 23
4.1.1 Planned vs existing occupancy of space at arterial road shrine 24
4.1.2 Planned vs existing occupancy of space at residential setting shrine 26
4.1.3 Planned vs existing occupancy of space at collector road shrine 28
4.1.4 Discussing the conflict 29
4.1.4.1 Why Hindu dominant castes feel the need to challenge urban planning apparatus? 30
4.1.4.2 Why welcome religious shrine on conflicted land to challenge urban planning apparatus? .32
4.2 Process followed for spatial organisation of religious shrine spaces 33
4.2.1 Documentation of selected situation 34
4.2.1.1 Arterial road shrine: Adding two more shrines on the available land 34
4.2.1.2 Residential setting shrine: Expanding the otla (raised platform) around the shrine 35
4.2.1.3 Collector road shrine: Putting metal framework around the shrine 36
4.2.2 Analysing the selected situations 37
4.2.2.1 Dissection framework: Dissecting “people” based on spatial agency 37
4.3 Agent’s agency and their legitimacy 39
4.3.1 Agency of religious shrine as an object 39
4.3.2 Religious shrine’s organisational strategy 40
4.3.2.1 Spatial organisation strategy 40
4.3.2.2 Strategy to delegate powers to human agents 41
4.3.2.3 Strategy to impose rules and regulations 41
4.3.3 Religious shrine’s organisational strategy and stabilised territorial production 42
4.4 Diagrammatic summary 48
5. Research conclusions and implications 49
Bibliography 53
Appendix (list of interviews) 55