(Samaj Weekly)
Letter to the chief Minister of Bihar and UNESCO
Shri Nitish Kumar
Hon. Chief Minister of Bihar
26 September, 2022
Dear Chief Minister,
The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is one of the four holiest sites related to the life of the Lord Buddha. This particular temple is sacred for the millions of Buddhists all over the world as it is a place where Lord Buddha attained Enlightenment. It is one of the earliest Buddhist temple built by Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century B.C., and the present temple dates from the 5th or 6th century. Because of the significance of this holy monument, the temple has been declared as a World Heritage by UNESCO. Today Buddhists world-wide venerate Bodh Gaya as the holiest place of Buddhist pilgrimage in the world and thousands of devotees visit this site.
It is a matter of great regret that the management of this temple is in the hands of non-Buddhists. Buddhists should have exclusive control over the temple’s administration.
It has been brought to our notice that the administration has allowed Hindu priests to perform ‘Pind Dan’ within the Mahaboddhi temple complex (Photos attached). Pind Dan as per Hindu belief is a ritual to offer homage to the departed soul and is performed by the relatives of the dead. These rituals and ceremonies carry on for fifteen days every year. This practice by the Hindu priests has, and is, desecrating the sanctity of this holiest of Buddhist places and is hurting the feelings of the followers of Buddhism. Many pilgrims come to the Mahabodhi Temple for peace and tranquillity. But the Hindu priests recite their mantras and disturb the meditating pilgrims. We feel that it is an open encroachment by Hindus of this historic Buddhist monument and is a step to turn into a Hindu site.
We humbly request you look into this serious matter and order the Hindu priests to stop ‘Pind Pan’ and restore peace to the holy Buddhist site before this matter escalates into a religious conflict between two communities.
This letter is copied to the UNESCO, World Heritage section.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours Sincerely,
Arun Kumar
General Secretary
Federation of Ambedkarite & Buddhist Organisations, UK
