Bodh Gaya and the struggle for belonging: the Hindutva washing of Buddhism and why it should be worried to us all
On Buddha Purnima this week, pilgrims and monks gathered in the Mahabodhi Mahavihara in Bodh Gaya to mark Lord Buddha’s enlightenment, expects the area to be peace, awe and reflection. A peaceful celebration of Buddhist culture was what was expected.
Instead, it was drilled through the sound of ‘pierced’Jai Shree Ram‘Slogans – not raised outside on the streets, but in the temple complex itself. Hindu priests carried out rituals in the holy premises, Brahminian chants echoed through the air, and Bihar’s governor stood as the main guest, while Buddhist monks protested outside.
For the Buddhist community, this was not just an penetration. It was a symbolic deletion.
A protest in Kalaburagi on Tuesday under the leadership of the district committee of the Buddhist Uptonasaka and the Upasakiyara Sangha. Credit: photo
It was also not an isolated event. The Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya has long been in the heart of a much deeper problem – the control of Buddhist religious spaces in India and the larger project of cultural rule under the guise of the national pride. This moment has made it impossible to ignore what many Buddhists have been saying for decades: Hindutva is not just a political ideology; It is also an instrument of appropriation.
How did we get here?
The roots of this conflict go back to 1949 when the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Act was adopted. Although Bodh Gaya was the most sacred location in Buddhism, the law enabled a predominantly Hindu committee to manage its affairs. Only a Buddhist member is required in the committee. A law that came into force before India has been in force for over 70 years – even while Buddhist monks, scientists and laypersons have continued to request his cancellation.
What happened here was not just an accident. It was part of a major problem of Hindi majoritarianism, in which the Buddhist identity either deleted in which Hindu folds are folded or managed. This incident not only caused widespread outrage in Bihar, but in the Buddhist communities of the country.
Her anger is not just about slogans. It is about being treated as outsiders in their own sacred rooms.
The missing monk and the protest at Bodh Gaya taken silent
Since February 12, Buddhist monks have had a peaceful protest in Bodh Gaya. Your demand is uncomplicated: raise the act and return of the control of the Mahabodhi Temple from 1949 to the Buddhist community. But even this fundamental call to autonomy was encountered.
Your demand is uncomplicated: raise the act and return of the control of the Mahabodhi Temple from 1949 to the Buddhist community. But even this fundamental call to autonomy was encountered.
On February 13th, Bhante vinaycharyaA leading monk in the movement was missing after a confrontation with a group, in which men said “Jai Shree Ram” sang. Other monks were said to have been beaten in the same episode.
Buddhist monks have posters during a protest in which the lifting of the Bodh Gaya Temple Act in Thane, Maharashtra, on March 25 | Photo credit: PTI
When monks are attacked when a spiritual leader disappears and a dharma rooted in peace is welcomed with state-supported aggression, the question arises: Is India still for his minorities-even the same, even those who have given him some of his most profound spiritual traditions?
A trigger pattern that leads to the incident in Bodh Gaya
The Hindutva project has long had an unpleasant relationship with Buddhism. On the one hand, it tries to fold Buddhism into a broader narrative “Sanatan Dharma” and only claim the Buddha as another Hindu avatar. On the other hand, it tries to suppress the radical history of Buddhism – one of box resistance, equality and open dissent.
Out of Anagarika DharmpalaThe movement in the 19th century against Bodh Gaya’s Brahman control for the conversion of Dr. BR Ambedar in Buddhism in 1956, Buddhism in India always had a strong anti-hegemony voice against an anti-hegemony. It has motivated the oppressed communities- in particular Dalits- to an integrative spiritual imagination that believes in equality.
This is exactly why it is a threat to Hindutva’s vision of a rigid, hierarchical Hindu Rashtra.
If monks demand Buddhist control over a Buddhist location, they not only claim a religious claim. They oppose a larger political project – one that tries to try every spiritual and cultural symbol in India into Hindules, even those who have expressly rejected Brahminian authority.
What does it mean for democracy?
This topic goes beyond religion. It speaks directly to the health of Indian democracy. Article 25 of the Indian constitution guarantees religious freedom. Why is a Buddhist temple and holiest von checked by a non-Buddhist body? Why are peaceful protests hit by violence or silence? Why is a monk missing and no major examinations?
Why are peaceful protests hit by violence or silence? Why is a monk missing and no major examinations?
At a time when India’s top judge BR GAVAI is a Buddhist, the Minister of the Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is part of a planned caste, and Kiren Rijiju, the Minister for Minority Affairs, is also a Buddhist. These questions become even more urgent. If such a high -ranking representation cannot protect one of the oldest minority communities in the world, what hope is there for the average Buddhist in India?
A Buddhist monk offers water in the Buddha statue, while people around the world take part in the Mahabodhi Temple on May 9, 2017 on May 9, 2017. | Photo credit: PTI
It indicates that representation without power means very little, especially if majorityism decides who belongs and who does not.
What the slogans at Bodh Gaya really say
“Jai Shree Ram” is not just a slogan. In recent years it has been on weapons during the mob lynchen, hatred of hatred and now temple inventions as a battles. When this slogan is shouted in a Buddhist VIHARA, he is wearing a message: they do not belong here.
This is a power game, not an act of devotion. It’s about rule, not about faith. And the fact that Buddhism has never been in competition with Hinduism as a tradition has made even more painful – it has only asked to exist in addition to dignity and autonomy.
But coexistence is not enough for Hindutva. It is looking for absorption or destruction.
This is not just about Bodh Gaya
What happens in Bodh Gaya is not limited to a city or a temple. It is part of a greater cultural change in which the symbols of Indian diversity are homogenized.
First, the description of textbooks, in which either Buddhist and Dalit stories are deleted or distorted or played around. Then converted Buddhist converts in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh. And now even their holy rooms no longer remain a safe space.
Then converted Buddhist converts in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh. And now even their holy rooms no longer remain a safe space.
If this is to be continued, the movement to regain Bodh Gaya could flow into the national and international stage.
And it should. Because it is not just about the management of a temple, it is about respecting the identity of a community that India gave its most powerful message: peace through equality.
What can be done?
The demands of the demonstrators are not inappropriate. You ask:
- The Mahabodhi Temple Management Act from 1949 are canceled.
- Buddhist monks who receive full control over the Mahavihara.
- The occurrence of an impartial examination of the violence and the disappearance of Bhante Vinaycharya, the missing monk.
- These constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and minority rights are honored in the letter and spirit.
These demands do not harm national unity. If at all, strengthen it by strengthening India’s commitment to pluralism.
What we want to protect
India houses some of the greatest spiritual traditions in the world.
But the traditions, precisely this diversity that holds India, only makes sense if every community feels safe, heard and respected in all aspects because it is the necessary minimum. The Bodh Gaya incident today is a test – for the government and for all of us.
Source: Newslaundry
Should we allow rulers to rewrite our common history? Should we only make an eye on slogans of rule and try to replace rituals of peace? Or should we stand by the communities that have given this country not only a religion, but also a vision of justice and inclusiveness without violence?
Anushka Bharadwaj is a graduate of journalism at SCMC Pune. She is an intersectional feminist with deep interest in gender, caste, politics and mental health. If she does not write or reads, she is usually lost in poetry, dances to her favorite songs or discovers new music – always thinking about the world after stories.
