India is the motherland of several religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and tolerant host of Islamism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity etc. These religious philosophies enriched the culture of India and contributed towards the socio- economic fabric of the nation.Buddhism originated in the Sixth Century AD by Gautam Buddha. It advocated the middle path philosophy for attaining moksha or nirvana.

Contribution of Buddhism to contemporary society:

• Resistance to caste system- It vehemently opposed the caste system and treated all persons equally. Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar both were inspired from Buddha in their fight against caste system.
• Character Building- The Buddhism focused on non- violence, non- possession, compassion,brotherhood to build up the human character.
• Growth of art and architecture- Many stupas, chaityas, pillars were built on their themes. Sanchi, Sarnath, Dhauli, Kanheri, Mathura, Gandhara all bear the imprint of Buddhism.
• Geopolitical dimension- Ashoka sent his daughter Sanghamitra and son Mahendra to preach Buddhism in Ceylon, present day Sri Lanka. It also spread to Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia etc. increasing the soft power of India.
• Emancipation of women- the women were admitted in sangha as nuns. They were given an equal status in Buddhism.
• Vedic Culture- it gave an alternative to Vedic culture and freed the people from its oppressive customs and traditions. It opposed idol worship and higher status to priests.

But the philosophy fell short of meeting its objectives:

• The caste system is still prevalent in India even after 15 centuries.
• The women’ position is still inferior as compared to men. We still witness the cases of girl infanticide, dowry, lower status of girls etc.
• The Buddhism divided itself into Mahayana and Hinayana which created confusion among followers about their path to salvation.
• Urban crime, refugee crisis, terrorism, climate change all show problems in the society today.

These ideologies can help a lot in solving the problems of the society as they motivate the humans to become a better version of themselves. They promote universal brotherhood. They bring about the required behavioral change amongst humans. They eventually help in the transformation of the society.But we can’t rely on these philosophies solely to bring about the change as they also require affirmative action from the people. The people from different religions should come together and uphold humanity at all costs to solve the problems of the society.