Buddhism’s holiest site erupts in protests over Hindu ‘control’

Targeting minorities become a trend in India as for latest development a protest has been erupted at the Buddhism’s holiest site against Hindu control of the shrine.

Bodh Gaya is one of the holiest places in their religion in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, where the Buddha gained enlightenment, since he was 15.

According to Abhishek Bauddh, a 30-year-old local, Buddhists from all over the country are gathering here, which is very unusual.

He said the Buddhists are not gathering here for any event, but for protest demanding the handing over of Bodh Gaya’s Mahabodhi Temple, one of the faith’s most sacred shrines.

In this regard, several Buddhist organisations have held rallies, from Ladakh bordering China in the north to the cities of Mumbai in the west and Mysuru in the south.

Now, people are increasingly trooping to Bodh Gaya to join the main protest, said Akash Lama, general secretary of the All India Buddhist Forum (AIBF)

India has an estimated 8.4 million Buddhist citizens, according to the country’s last census in 2011.

Under the 1949 Bihar state law, for the last 76 years the temple has been managed by an eight-member committee – four Hindus and the same number of Buddhists.

But the protesters, including monks clad in saffron with loudspeakers and banners in their hands, are demanding a repeal of that Act and a complete handover of the temple to the Buddhists.

According to them, in recent years, Hindu monks have increasingly been performing rituals that defy the spirit of Buddhism.

It is believed that about 2Km away from sacred fig tree in the Mahabodhi Temple complex where the Buddha is meditated.

“From the very beginning, when we used to come here, we felt very disheartened to see rituals that Lord Buddha had forbidden being performed by people of other religions in this courtyard,” said 58-year-old Amogdarshini told Al Jazeera.

In recent years, Buddhists have complained to local, state and national authorities about the Hindu rituals.

But things came to a head last month, when Buddhist monks, who were sitting on a hunger strike for 14 days inside temple premises, were removed by police and were relocated outside the temple.

“Are we terrorists? Why cannot we protest in the courtyard that belongs to us?” said National Confederation of Buddhists of India secretary Pragya Mitra Bodh.

Since then, the protests have intensified — some, like Amogdarshini, who had already spent a couple of weeks in Bodh Gaya in January, have now returned to join the protest.