Kenneth George: The Rise of Vishwakarma Devotion in India’s Infrastructural Moment
Can the pursuit of infrastructure-driven development involve religious devotion? Kenneth George (Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, The Australian National University) posed this question as part of the Department of Anthropology’s distinguished lecture series. One of two distinguished lectures in cultural anthropology, (along with Kirin Narayan, also of ANU) and co-sponsored by the Center for Asian Studies and the Department of Anthropology, George presented his ongoing ethnographic and archival research on the global rise of Vishwakarma devotion over the past decade. This moment has coincided with the Indian state’s economic and ideological promotion of infrastructure as a mechanism for national development, and the parallel promotion of particular career paths in engineering and manufacturing as paths to economic mobility. George and Narayan’s archival work traces the transformation and repurposing of the Hindu god associated with tools and mechanical expertise into a god now available for national projects celebrating construction, energy extraction, and coding. George’s presentation shared rich archival materials of Vishwakarma’s transformation in the public sphere through his visible presence, including impersonation, posters, government websites, and personal shrines, all illustrating the central role of visibility in veneration and the experience of divine.
Approximately 50 people attended the event on March 21, 2023.