{"id":22629,"date":"2013-07-10T21:58:03","date_gmt":"2013-07-11T01:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=22629"},"modified":"2013-07-10T22:27:30","modified_gmt":"2013-07-11T02:27:30","slug":"buddhist-leaders-critical-of-hindu-majority-bodhgaya-temple-management-committee-after-mahabodhi-bomb-blasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=22629","title":{"rendered":"Buddhist Leaders Critical of Hindu Majority Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee After Mahabodhi Bomb Blasts"},"content":{"rendered":"

by<\/p>\n

Anumeha Yadav
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s serial blasts at the Mahabodhi temple stoked differences among religious leaders in Bodh Gaya over the controversial Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC) Act, 1949, which provides for a Hindu majority on the committee that looks after the complex.<\/p>\n

\"President<\/a>

President Mahinda Rajapaksa and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa in Bodh Gaya, Feb 2013-news.lk<\/p><\/div>\n

Following a public interest litigation petition, Bihar\u2019s Home Department wrote to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) in June this year, proposing an amendment to the Act. But officials declined to comment on what will happen to the proposal.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Built in the sixth century AD around the tree under which Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment, the main complex encompasses a Shiva temple, and several Buddhist shrines. Some Buddhist leaders hold the current structure of the management committee responsible for inadequate security. \u201cThe BTMC is responsible for security in the complex and hired 38 guards. Why was the management committee not alert? If there were a majority of Buddhists on the committee, there would be a greater sense of belonging and concern for the temple,\u201d All-India Bhikkhu Sangh treasurer Pragyadeep says.<\/p>\n

Buddhist monks launched protests and hunger strikes against the Act from the mid 1980s to 1995, demanding that it be amended or repealed.<\/p>\n

Under the Act, the BTMC consists of a chairperson and eight members nominated by the State government for three years. Four among them shall be Buddhists and four Hindus, including the mahant of the Shiva temple. The Gaya District Collector is the ex officio chairperson, wielding authority over administrative and financial matters.<\/p>\n

If the Collector is not a Hindu, the government shall nominate a Hindu as chairperson \u2014 a provision that several Buddhist leaders and the National Commission for Minorities have termed \u201cunconstitutional and against the secular fabric of the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buddhist leaders pointed out to an NCM team that visited Bihar in 2009 \u2014 after protests by Buddhist monks in New Delhi \u2014 that this was the only instance in the country \u201cin which a religious institution was run by people not professing faith [in the religion] to which the institution belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, differences over rituals crop up sometimes, say monks. \u201cThe Hindus worship the circular structure at the base of the shikhara (the pyramidal structure) as Shiv Linga, whereas Buddhists believe that it represents the earth\u2019s navel,\u201d says a Buddhist priest.<\/p>\n

The use of funds at the temple has led to differences too. The temple committee has Rs. 15 crore at its disposal this fiscal. \u201cThe Lalu Prasad government began the process of appointing members [to the committee] for political gain and to control who gets maintenance contracts. The practice has continued,\u201d says Pragyadeep.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no final decision yet on the changes to the Act. Whatever is in the best interests of the temple will be done,\u201d says Arvind Kumar, a member of the BTMC and of the Janata Dal (United) State council.<\/p>\n

Dwarko Sundrani, 92, is one of the longest serving members of the BTMC. The current rift among the religious leaders is unnecessary, he says. \u201cIn fact, Nehru had proposed the 1949 Act to include Buddhists to reach out to East Asian countries, even when the Hindu priest at the temple was opposed to it. There were no problems for years. Why fight over it now?\u201d <\/p>\n

COURTESY:THE HINDU<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Anumeha Yadav Sunday\u2019s serial blasts at the Mahabodhi temple stoked differences among religious leaders in Bodh Gaya over the controversial Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC) Act, 1949, which provides for a Hindu majority on the committee that looks after the complex. Following a public interest litigation petition, Bihar\u2019s Home Department wrote to the National …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Buddhist Leaders Critical of Hindu Majority Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee After Mahabodhi Bomb Blasts’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22629"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22629"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22645,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22629\/revisions\/22645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}