Cultural infrastructures and territorial capital: jaatres and regional development in Karnataka’s Malaprabha Valley

Regional development in India is often framed through metropolitan growth, industrial corridors and state-led infrastructure projects, with limited attention to the developmental role of small towns and culturally embedded practices. This paper examines jaatres, ritual festivals in Karnataka’s Malaprabha Valley, as cultural infrastructures that contribute to regional development by mobilising territorial capital. Through a combination of fieldwork, archival sources and observation, this investigation reveals how jaatres activate social networks, simulate economic circulation and reinforce territorial identity across rural and small town contexts. By applying Camagni’s territorial capital framework to an Indian small town context, the paper reconceptualises culture as a development input rather than a development outcome. It demonstrates how cultural infrastructures assemble heterogeneous resources into territorial systems, producing relational surplus. The paper concludes by highlighting the value of integrating endogenous cultural infrastructures into inclusive, place-based planning, offering a situated perspective on how culture, economy and identity jointly shape territorial development.