TNN | Sep 5,
2015
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bodh Gaya on
Saturday amid indications that he may declare the city where Lord
Buddha attained enlightenment as the spiritual capital of
Buddhism.
Modi who will be the first PM to visit Bodh Gaya since 1954, sees
the place as one which has the credentials to emerge as the "global
symbol and vehicle" for enlightenment and peace.
The focus on Buddhism is
part of the Modi government's strategy to leverage India's soft
power to reach out to a large swathe of countries steeped in
Buddhist influence. "This is an asset which was never appreciated.
Civilisational affinity between India and these countries can be a
force multiplier for Delhi, helping it to forge new partnerships
and deepen existing ones," said a senior government source involved
in 'Samvad - Global Hindu-Buddhist Initiative on Conflict Avoidance
and Environment Consciousness'.
The harnessing of India's Buddhist legacy, advocated among others
by national security advisor A K Doval, has emerged as a
conspicuous feature of foreign policy under Modi who, while
commemorating Buddha Purnima, proclaimed Buddha to be the reason
why Asia would dominate the 21st century.
"The world is discussing that the 21st century will be Asia's
century. (Though) there may be differences which Asian country the
Asian century shall belong to... but an aspect possibly overlooked
by those having the vision is that Buddha's way is the sole reason
why the 21st century will belong to Asia," Modi had said at an
official function on May 4.
Sources in the government said Bodh Gaya will occupy a special
place in the government's plan to use the commonality between Hindu
and Buddhist civilizations. Modi, who on Wednesday said Hinduism
and Buddhism were "philosophies and not just belief systems", is
likely to emphasize on Saturday that Bodh Gaya can help Buddhism
play the role of being the most effective deterrent against
"intra-religious and inter-religious
violence".
Seventy Buddhist scholars from about two dozen countries which are
influenced by Buddhism are likely to participate in the Bodh Gaya
function.