Bridging Development and Heritage: Expert Gaze, Local Discourses, and Visual Aesthetic Crisis at Hampi World Heritage Site

A critical re-evaluation of the 'heritage vs. development' narrative at Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS), reveals that the conflict was not rooted in local discourses but in the expert gaze. While heritage experts and agencies framed the controversy as an opposition between conservation and developmental needs—often typecasting locals as ignorant advocates for development—the study demonstrates that residents sought bridges to connect their historical contributions to the Vijayanagara Empire's legacy, challenging the binary opposition. Through ethnographic fieldwork and archival analysis spanning nearly three decades, the research exposes how expert perspectives perpetuated dissonance, suggesting that heritage-development conflicts are often constructed rather than inherent.

Rajangam, K. (2021). Bridging Development and Heritage: Expert Gaze, Local Discourses, and Visual Aesthetic Crisis at Hampi World Heritage Site. Journal of South Asian Development, 16(1), 75–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/09731741211007291