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.