Buddhist monks back Grand Alliance in push for Mahabodhi Temple control

With a population of 1.12 lakh, Buddhists constitute just over 0.085 per cent of the 12.7 crore population of Bihar. They may thus not make much of an impact as a vote bank, but the Grand Alliance has been presenting itself as the “saviour” of minorities, and helping the cause of Buddhists could drive home that message.

Not an easy protest

The protest at Bodh Gaya hasn’t been an easy one for the monks. After they started their silent protest outside the temple in February, the monks were allegedly “forced” to change their protest site.

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“On day, the officials approached us. An agreement was reached and we became hopeful. However, at midnight, under the pretext of a medical checkup, many monks were taken to the Gaya Medical College and left there. The next day, on February 28, we held a protest at the hospital. After that we were given a place at Domuhan to protest," Pragyasheel Mahathero, chief adviser of the All India Buddhist Forum (AIBF), told The Federal.

The protest generated a lot of attention with several prominent political leaders and activists reaching the site and expressing their solidarity. However, post Operation Sindoor, when the hostilities between India and Pakistan ran for weeks, the protesting monks were asked to halt their protest owing to a threat to the nearby Gaya International Airport.

When the monks began their protest again on May 13, they were transferred to Neema Monastery, where they alleged the authorities stopped the electricity and then forced them to move to their current site — Vishwadandh Bodhi Vihar.

What Buddhists want

The Buddhist monks hope to get exclusive control of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya. They want the temple’s management to be transferred to members of the Buddhist community.

Known as the “Land of Buddha”, Prince Siddaratha is said to have attained moksha (enlightenment) at the spot, and it's now central to the faith of Buddhists across the world. However, the Buddhists don’t have exclusive control over its management.

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Under the 1949 Bodh Gaya Act, four members from the Hindu faith have to be appointed to the temple's management committee, with the state government holding the authority to nominate these members.

Under Section 3 of the Act, the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC) is to have nine members — the district magistrate as the chairman and eight office bearers, half of whom are Hindus nominated by the Bihar government, and only four Buddhists, including the Mahant of the Mahabodhi Temple, and a priest. This committee manages and controls the temple and its associated properties.

This give Hindus susbtantial control over the Buddhist site, which the protesting monks want reversed.

'Repeal Bodh Gaya Act'

“The Bodh Gaya Act was made in 1949. The Constitution was adopted after the Act. The Constitution's Article 13 states that all those earlier laws brought before independence should be treated null and void. So, if all laws made before don’t stand, why is it continuing?” asked Mahathero.

“Under the Constitution, the management of a religious centre has to be handed over to the followers it belongs to. This has not happened for us,” pointed out Mahathero.

Further, he argued that the district magistrate can only be Hindu in Gaya. “Why can't Christians and Muslims take up the post? This kind of injustice is against the Constitution. How are we equal? Don’t you find this a form of oppression?” he asked.

The Buddhist monks and their organisations, led by the AIBF, have also been staging an indefinite protest demanding the repeal of the Bodh Gaya Act of 1949.

The demand is a long-standing one. Mahathero said their organisation AIBF has been appealing to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for several years, without any resolution. When the protest began earlier this year, several Buddhists met with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

Mahathero said for now Tejashwi has fulfilled his promise of including their demand in the manifesto.

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"It is really significant that Tejashwi has included our demand in the manifesto. There has been no politician who has previously supported us. Besides, the important thing is that Rahul Gandhi is also a supporter of giving minorities their rights. We are hopeful that the Grand Alliance has included our demand in its manifesto and they will fulfil it,” said Mahathero.

Long history

The demand for Buddhist monks to be given control and management of the Mahabodhi Temple was first made in 1890 by a monk named Anagarika Dharmapala, who had come from Sri Lanka and later lived in India. Dharmapala was moved after reading Light of Asia by Sir Edwen Arnold.

When Mahatma Gandhi visited Gaya in 1922, Buddhist monks had raised the same demand. “It is Gandhiji's promise to the community and it should be fulfilled. Every justice loving person wants the temple management to be handed over to Buddhists,” said Mahthero.

Gandhi had then stated that the responsibility for the management of the Buddhist pilgrimage site would be given to Buddhists, but only after the country gained independence. He went on to exhort everyone to join forces and fight for independence.

However, when the Interim Government passed the BTMC Act in 1949, Buddhists immediately began opposing it. The Buddhist demand became more prominent when Dr BR Ambedkar in 1956 adopted Buddhism along with over 4.5 lakh people.

The movement gained momentum in 1990, at the end of which in 1995, then-CM Lalu Prasad Yadav ended the protests by nominating a Buddhist as the BTMC secretary.

Legal recourse

The demand to hand over the management of the temple to Buddhists is also in the Supreme Court, where the AIBF said the government filed an amendment petition on October 30 this year. “We hope that the apex court rules in our favour and gives the government directions to make changes in the discriminatory Act,” said Mahathero.

There much angst over the temple funds, from donations, that adds fuel to the fire. “Twenty-five years ago, when I was the secretary of the temple, the donations were in crores. Naturally, it would be more now. We had maintained a daily record and it was open for anyone to see. There was transparency,” asserted Mahathero.

He alleged that the temple management now doesn’t share the donation figuress. “Let us know then where you have spent all the money,” he said.

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The AIBF chief advisor said once the control of the temple’s management is exclusively handed over to the Buddhists, the donations would be used for the “benefit of humanity”.

“We will have colleges, universities and hospitals. Our belief is to serve humanity,” said Mahathero.