Buddhist Pilgrimage Circuit

Context: Prime Minister inaugurated the Kushinagar international airport recently in the presence of ministerial colleagues and representatives from 12 countries including a special Sri Lankan delegation led by minister Namal Rajapaksa, a son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

• The airport in eastern UP, the third international airport in the election-bound state, will mainly service the Buddhist tourism circuit.
• The Sri Lankan Airlines flight carrying monks and dignitaries was the first to land at the airport.

Kushinagar and the Buddha

• Among the most important of Buddhist pilgrimages, Kushinagar was where the Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana (ultimate salvation) in c. 483 BC.
• Today’s Kushinagar is identified with Kushinara, capital of the ancient Malla republic, which was one of the 16 mahajanapadas of the 6th-4th centuries BC.
• The area went on to be part of the kingdoms of the Mauryas, Shungas, Kushanas, Guptas, Harshavardhana, and the Palas. 
• Kushinara is believed to have been inhabited until at least the 12th century.
• The first excavations in Kushinagar were carried out by Alexander Cunningham and ACL Carlleyle, who unearthed the main stupa and the 6-metre-long statue of the Reclining Buddha in 1876. 
• Kushinagar is among the very few places in India where The Buddha is depicted in reclining form.

Buddhist tourism sites

• In 2016, the Ministry of Tourism announced the Buddhist Circuit as the country’s first transnational tourism circuit, covering sites in Nepal and Sri Lanka alongside those in India.
• It is surprising that while Buddhism originated in India and seven of the eight main Buddhist pilgrimage sites are in India, our country gets not even 1 per cent of Buddhist pilgrims in the world.
• The ministry’s map of the Buddhist Circuit includes Bodh Gaya, Vaishali, and Rajgir in Bihar, Kushinagar, Sarnath, and Shravasti in UP, and Lumbini in Nepal.

Cultural diplomacy

• There is an awareness in the government that the absence of tourist infrastructure is a major reason why India loses out to Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia and Thailand. 
• The hope is that world-class facilities will be able to attract Buddhist tourists to India, and boost revenues and employment generation.
• A Buddhist Circuit tourist train covers all destinations in 14 days, and helicopter services and more airports are in the pipeline. 
• The push is intended to assert and consolidate India’s position as the original centre of Buddhism, against the claims from China.
• Since the announcement of the Buddhist Circuit in 2016, a total Rs 343 crore has been sanctioned for the project under various schemes, of which Rs 278 crore has been released.

Threats to the Buddhist Circuit

Destruction and Pollution of Buddhist Heritage

• Population pressures and competition for resources may lead to encroachment of Buddhist sites
• Traffic congestion around sites is potentially hazardous.
• Air pollution may damage ancient relics (this is already happening in some places)
• Destruction of relics and sites due to a lack of awareness and sensitivity towards the fragility of ancient sites

Conflict of Traditions and Practices

• Buddhist sites set in Hindu and Muslim dominated communities may dilute Buddhist character and experience.
• Lack of understanding among locals and pilgrims of respective lifestyles, needs, and traditions may cause insensitivity and conflict.

Compromised Visitor Safety

• Hazardous road conditions may compromise the transportation safety of tourists.
• Lack of hygiene and poor food safety standards may threaten visitor health and taint the circuit’s brand.

Overlapping Government Mandates Result in Inaction

• There are multiple government agencies at the village, municipal, district, state and federal with unclear and in some cases overlapping mandates over sites on the Buddhist Circuit, aspects of connectivity, infrastructure development and market development; 
• This threatens the viability of collective actions that might contribute to the transformation envisaged by stakeholders

Buddhism

• Buddhism is a faith that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (“the Buddha”) more than 2,500 years ago in India. Its practice has historically been most prominent in East and Southeast Asia, but its influence is growing in the West. Many Buddhist ideas and philosophies overlap with those of other faiths.