Mumbai: Buddhists campaigning for the handover of the Mahabodhi Mahavihar in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, to the community, held a rally in the city on Wednesday, the anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism in 1956.
Leaders from different political parties, including Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad; Republican Party (Athawale)'s Rajya Sabha MP and minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Ramdas Athawale; and MLC Bhai (Vijay) Girkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party, were present at Tuesday’s meeting.
However, the original plan to walk 5.5km from the Veer Jijamata Udyan (Byculla zoo) was restricted to 750 meters from Metro cinema, Dhobi Talao, to Azad Maidan after police suggestions.
The march was organised by the Mahabodhi Mahavihara Mukti Andolan Kruti Samiti, a group formed to campaign for exclusive Buddhist management of the historic temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Bodh Gaya Temple Act, 1949, gave the responsibility of managing the temple to a nine-member committee, including four Hindus, four Buddhists, and the district magistrate of Gaya, who serves as the ex-officio chairperson. Buddhists have called for an amendment in the law, demanding that the temple should be managed solely by Buddhists.
Athawale said that though the agitation is for a change in a law in Bihar, a majority of India’s Buddhists now live in Maharashtra. Members of Dalit communities followed Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s religious conversion to Buddhism in 1956.
“The law was passed when India was still a dominion of Britain and before the country framed its Constitution. The Maharashtra government should persuade the Bihar administration to change the law,” said Athawale.
The temple in Gaya district marks the spot where Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment around 2,500 years ago. Buddhist argued that the 1949 law was enacted when there were not many Buddhists who could take up the task of administering the temple. This is no longer the case, they said.
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