Cross-disciplinary perspectives on a contested Buddhist site : Bodhgaya jataka / [edited by] David Geary, Matthew R. Sayers, Abhishek Singh Amar.

Introduction: The multiple lives of Bodh Gaya: Defining views and changing perspectives / David Geary, Matthew R. Sayers, and Abhishek Singh Amar -- Part 1: Empowering the landscape of the Buddha. Gaya-Bodh Gaya: the origins of a pilgrimage complex / Matthew R. Sayers -- Sacred Bodh Gaya : the Buddhaksetra of Gotama Buddha / Abhishek Singh Amar -- The changing landscape at Bodh Gaya / Janice Leoshko -- Bodh Gaya and the Issue of originality in art / Frederick M. Asher -- Part 2: Monumental conjectures: rebirths and retellings. Established usage and absolute freedom of religion at Bodh Gaya: 1861-1915 / Alan Trevithick -- Queen Victoria beneath the Bodhi Tree: Anagarika Dharmapala as anti-imperialist and Victorian / Noel Salmond -- Bodh Gaya in the 1950s: Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahant Giri, and Anagarika Munindra / C. Robert Pryor -- "Why cause unnecessary confusion?": re-inscribing the Mahabodhi Temple's holy places / Tara Doyle -- Part 3: Universal dreams and local departures. -- World Heritage in the shadow of Zamindari / David Geary -- Maitreya, or the love of Buddhism: the non-event of a Bodh Gaya's giant statue / Jessica Marie Falcone -- Universal education and social transformation in Bodh Gaya / Kory Goldberg -- NGOs, corruption, and reciprocity in the land of Buddha's Enlightenment / Jason Rodriguez.

"Bodhgayā has long been recognized as the place where the Buddha achieved enlightenment. This book brings together the recent work of twelve scholars from a variety of disciplines - anthropology, art history, history, and religion - to highlight their various findings and perspectives on different facets of Bodhgayā's past and present. Through an engaging and critical overview of the place of Buddha's enlightenment, the book discusses the dynamic and contested nature of this site, and looks at the tensions with the on-going efforts to define the place according to particular histories or identities. It addresses many aspects of Bodhgayā, from speculation about why the Buddha chose to sit beneath a tree in Bodhgayā, to the contemporary struggles over tourism development, education and non-government organizations, to bring to the foreground the site's longevity, reinvention and current complexity as a UNESCO World Heritage monument in the north Indian state of Bihar. The book is a useful contribution for students and scholars of Buddhism and South Asian Studies"--