Soon, travel along Ambedkar Circuit: What you need to know about Centre's plans

The Centre is drawing up plans for an ‘Ambedkar Circuit’, a special tourist train that will visit five prominent places associated with the life of the founding father of the Indian Constitution. Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy made the announcement at the three-day conference of state tourism ministers in Dharamshala aimed at boosting travel to the country. The announcement comes just days after former president Ram Nath Kovind, speaking after releasing a book  entitled Ambedkar & Modi: Reformer’s Ideas, Performer’s Implementation, said the prime minister is a true follower of BR Ambedkar and is working towards turning the social reformer’s vision into a reality. Let’s take a closer look at the ‘Ambedkar Circuit’: As per The Times of India, the special tourist train will encompass the key sites (Panch Teerth) associated with Ambedkar including Mhow (his birthplace), London (where he resided and studied), Nagpur (also studied here), Delhi (where he passed away) and finally Mumbai (where he was cremated.) As per Indian Express, the government had first come up with this idea in 2016. The idea is to attract members of the public from outside the Dalit community (who already visit these spots as a pilgrimage). [caption id=“attachment_9703741” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Meals, ground transportation, and entry to the sites, will be included, as per Indian Express. The Modi government has since its time in office celebrated Ambedkar – unveiling his portrait in Parliament’s Central Hall and developing Deeksha Bhoomi as an international tourist centre. Union minister Anurag Thakur at the book launch claimed Ambedkar was ignored by earlier dispensations and that it took the BJP-supported V P Singh government to accord him the Bharat Ratna.

But not everyone is impressed with the government’s plans.

Amlan Sarkar, writing in The Swaddle, says this is an example of how the state uses deification as a tool to co-opt revolutionary figures while deradicalising their politics. Sarkar notes how those from the Hindu right have tried to claim Ambedkar as their own over the past few years. “They take his comments on Muslims and Islam out of context to justify their own Islamophobia. They also claim that his decision to convert to Buddhism as opposed to Christianity or Islam represents his admiration for the greater “Sanatan fold” and for his motherland — as Buddhism originated in India, and Hindus believe the Buddha to be an incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu — just like Rama,” Sarkar wrote. However, a closer look at the facts debunks many of these claims, Sarkar added, noting that Ambedkar remained a staunch critic of the Brahminical practices that define Hinduism. Other circuits The upcoming Ambedkar Circuit is be just one among many. As per Indian Express, the government had identified 15 tourist circuits under its Swadesh Darshan scheme including Ramayana Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Desert Circuit, Eco Circuit, Heritage, North East, Himalayan, Sufi, Krishna, Rural, Tribal, and Tirthankar Circuits.

Till March, 76 projects had been sanctioned in these 15 circuits at an estimated cost of Rs 5,445 crore, as per the report.

The Indian Railways in June had announced a second run of the Bharat Gaurav train on the Ramayana Circuit – this time visiting Nepal. [caption id=“attachment_10830351” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The inaugural Bharat Gaurav train, connecting destinations associated with Ramayana Circuit in India and Nepal, was flagged off from Delhi’s Safdarjung railway station on Tuesday. ANI[/caption] The special theme-based tour had covered pilgrimage and heritage sites across India including Ayodhya, Sitamarhi, Buxar, Varanasi, Prayag, Chitrakoot, Nasik, Hampi, Rameshwaram, Kanchipuram and Bhadrachalam. Officials told Indian Express this train will become a regular feature, especially as the 2024 opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya gets closer. ‘India synonymous with tourism’  The Centre has been pursuing an integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits in the areas of eco-tourism, wildlife, Buddhist, desert, spiritual, Ramayana, Krishna, coastal, Northeast, rural, Himalayan, tribal and heritage, as per The Times of India. Reddy said developing wildlife, sustainable and home stay tourism, and focus on inviting private enterprise to invest more deeply in the tourism sector are also key areas to promote domestic tourism. He further stated that 3,000 rail coaches will be deployed around the country to promote rail tourism. MoS Tourism Ajay Bhatt and MoS Tourism Shripad Naik, Chairman FAITH Nakul Anand, and DG Tourism G Kamala Vardhana Rao were also present at the conference. The National Conference of State Tourism Ministers also aims to bring in diverse viewpoints and perspectives from all the states and Union Territories of India on tourism development and growth and to create a direct dialogue with the states on schemes, policies and steps being taken at a national level for overall tourism improvement in India. Reddy, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Vikas Bhi Virasat Bhi’ slogan, also declared that the National Tourism Policy will be released before the next Budget Session after a vast process of consultations and deliberations. [caption id=“attachment_10827361” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Twitter/ @BJP4India[/caption] “In the past 75 years, India has become synonymous with tourism, spirituality, transformation, culture, and diversity. It is a matter of great pride to celebrate the record-breaking expansion, leading India to become the 5th largest economy in the world. As such, establishing the tourism sector as a primary concern, the Ministry of Tourism has undertaken various initiatives and taken a four-fold development strategy that focuses on improving the connectivity via air, rail, and roads, enhancing the tourism infrastructure and dependent services, streamlining branding and promotion and showcasing the culture and heritage,” Reddy said.

“The Himalayan Circuit will also be promoted under the action plan for the development of tourist circuits,” he added.

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The Union Tourism Minister further added that “The National Conference of State Tourism Ministers is also important in the current context of India’s G20 presidency. G-20 will be used as a platform to showcase India’s tourism potential to the world”. Emphasising the importance of air connectivity G Kishan Reddy said that the number of airports in the country has increased from 74 in 2014 to 140 now, and it is further proposed to increase the number of airports to 220 by 2025. He also said that the Prime Minister’s vision of associating the Indian diaspora and NRIs for promoting tourism will be encouraged and urged each diaspora Indian to motivate at least five foreigners to visit India as per the vision of our PM. The financial assistance to the tourism sector, which is the biggest sufferer due to COVID-19, continues to be extended up to 31 March 2023, he said. The tourism sector generated Rs 16.91 lakh crore ($240 billion) or 9.2 per cent of India’s GDP in 2018 and has supported around 42.67 million jobs or 8.1 per cent of total employment. The conference is divided into thematic sessions on Development of Tourism Infrastructure, Cultural, Spiritual & Heritage tourism, Tourism in the Himalayan states, Responsible and sustainable tourism, Role of digital technology for the marketing and promotion of tourism destinations, Emerging importance of homestays in the Indian hospitality sector, Ayurveda, Wellness, and Medical Value travel, and lastly on Forest and wildlife tourism. The PRASHAD Scheme aim to strengthen the tourist facilities around spiritual locations, under which 39 projects have been sanctioned in 24 States. The infrastructure development at these tourists, pilgrimage and heritage destinations/cities focuses on cleanliness, security, universal accessibility, service delivery, skill development and livelihood of local communities. The ministry has recently launched the Swadesh Darshan Scheme 2.0 with the objective to develop sustainable and responsible destinations following a tourist and destination-centric approach. It is a development of the previous Schemes and would and the objective is to evolve as a holistic mission to develop sustainable and responsible tourist destinations covering tourism and allied infrastructure, tourism services, human capital development, destination management and promotion backed by policy and institutional reforms. The national conference also aims to build a common vision for tourism and its growth as we move towards India 2047. The upcoming 25 years being the Amrit Kaal, the aim of the Conference is to begin a common conversation between the State and Central Governments for setting the vision for tourism in India in the year 2047. After the press conference, the event was attended by Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur. With inputs from agencies .Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.