Luke Whitmore

Luke Whitmore is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. His research focuses on the Hindu pilgrimage place of Kedarnath, and the mountainous region of Garhwal (located in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand) in which it is found. He is currently writing a book about the different ways in which people experience the place of Kedarnath today.

CultureJuly 8, 2013

In the Aftermath of the “Himalayan Tsunami”

By Luke Whitmore

The numbers may be low compared to global-scale disasters of recent years, but there is a wrenching poignancy to what is happening in Uttarakhand right now. Many of the forces that frame daily life in South Asia are suddenly on display like a raw wound: the wages of development and globalization, the power of the natural world, divine agency, altruism, self-interest, and the political nature of both government action and religious ritual.