Shadows of the Past: Exploring the Landscape of Dark Tourism in West Bengal
Authors/Creators
- 1. Saltora Netaji Centenary College Saltora,West Bengal, India
- 2. Saltora Netaji Centenary College Saltora, West Bengal, India
Description
Dark tourism, also termed thanatourism, refers to travel to sites associated with death, tragedy, violence and human suffering, and has emerged as a significant field of academic inquiry due to its links with memory, heritage, ethics and spatial representation. India’s complex historical landscape shaped by colonialism, political movements, conflict, distinctive death rituals, and Tantricism offers substantial scope for dark tourism research. Within this national context, West Bengal presents a distinctive geography of dark tourism, where landscapes of death are deeply embedded in cultural memory and regional identity. This paper examines the potential of dark tourism in West Bengal from a tourism-geographical perspective using primary data as well as secondary data from academic literature, historical documents, tourism reports and archival sources. The study analyses selected sites, namely Dow Hill (Kurseong), South Park Street Cemetery and Alipore Central Jail (Kolkata), Tarapith (Birbhum), Marichjhapi (South 24 Parganas), Plassey (Murshidabad), and Begunkodor (Purulia). Findings reveal fragmented and informal development yet strong potential for thematic dark tourism circuits. Ethical, community-centred and sustainable planning is essential for future development.
Files
Shadows of the Past.pdf
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Additional details
Dates
- Submitted
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2026-01-07
- Accepted
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2026-01-22
Software
References
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