Ayodhya, India: Placemaking and Transformation of Historic Urban Landscape

Abstract

Places are the repository of the human imprints on the landscape and the true representative of the changes and transformations that took with time, through the channel of placemaking. The studied city, Ayodhya is one among the holy-heritage cities in Hindu cosmogony that is known for bestowing salvation. Of course, it had a history of the Babri Masjid—Ramajanmabhumi issue—which once recorded an example of the contested landscape; however, it is resolved smoothly through the jurisprudence process and public awakening. The transformation of the landscape and the issue of placemaking, with case studies of the Ramajanmabhumi temple and Queen Huh memorial park, are illustrated here as examples of making and re-creating the cultural landscapes in the holy-heritage city of Ayodhya in the frame of historical processes and events. The historical growth and landscape changes in Ayodhya are narrated, emphasizing the re-creation of the Ramajanmabhumi temple. Moreover, the recent development and expansion of Queen Huh Memorial Park, honouring Queen Huh who went to Gimhae (Korea) and married King Kim Suro in CE 48 as narrated in the thirteenth century memoir—the Samguk Yusa—represent an example of Indo-Korean interfaces of placemaking and will promote cross-cultural integration and cultural tourism. The narration and interpretation of the case studies will further be compared with a similar case of holy-heritage cities in India.