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India must look East spiritually

India’s eastern neighbourhood unfortunately received relatively little bilateral diplomatic attention in the years immediately following Independence.

India must look East spiritually

Buddhist devotees from Thailand offer prayers with Thai rituals at Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya. PTI file photo



G Parthasarthy 
A former diplomat

India’s eastern neighbourhood unfortunately received relatively little bilateral diplomatic attention in the years immediately following Independence. India had then focused attention on moves for freedom from British/European colonial rule, with a somewhat exaggerated belief that it played a significant global role in the "cold war". Moreover, with New Delhi choosing to adopt a path of "self-reliance" and "import substitution", the prospects of playing any meaningful role in foreign investments and trade, were sharply limited. There was a relatively limited Indian contribution, in security and economic development, across its eastern shores.

Things changed significantly in the 1990s after the end of the "cold war". Prime Minister Narasimha Rao set India on a path of renewing ancient trade and economic links with a "Look East" policy. This was in consultation with countries like Singapore, which we had virtually ignored, for decades. Interestingly, Rao was India's first PM hailing from an eastern coastal state, who was not, therefore, so exclusively focused on security threats, from across our land borders. He realised that our eastern neighbourhood, extending beyond Malacca to Vietnam, Japan, China and South Korea, was becoming the economically fastest growing region globally. Over the last three decades, our economy has been increasingly integrated with economies across our eastern neighbourhood. Trade ties and regional connectivity are expanding. Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh  are a part of this process, through BIMSTEC.

These developments are only natural, as trade with eastern neighbours, from Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand to Srivijaya (Indonesia) and beyond, had flourished for centuries, before the colonial rule. But, these ties should be made enduring, by reinforcing trade and investment, with a spiritual dimension, arising from the huge influence in the neighbourhood, of the teachings of Lord Gautama Buddha.  The message of the Buddha spread beyond India's borders through Sri Lanka to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. It followed the abhorrence and renunciation of war, by Emperor Ashoka, after the bloodletting in the Kalinga conflict. The message was also carried by monks, travellers and traders westwards through trade routes and across the Silk Routes to China, Vietnam Japan and Korea.

Its abiding impact is evident from the fact that the estimated population of Buddhists worldwide in 2010 was around 480 million. The present Buddhist population could be around 540 million. Of the 480 million Buddhists worldwide in 2010, 244 million were in China, 45.8 million in Japan, 64.4 million in Thailand, 38.4 million in Myanmar, 14.3 million in Vietnam, 11.05 million in South Korea and 14.2 million in Sri Lanka. Laos, Mongolia, Malaysia, and the Philippines have Buddhist populations of over one million, while the US has nearly 4 million. 

India has never seriously considered how to leverage the abiding spiritual ties it has with the people of the neighbouring Buddhist countries.  It ignored how imaginatively building tourist facilities in the areas of Buddhist pilgrimage would benefit it, boosting tourism revenues. It also appeared to ignore the fact that such tourism would enable it to develop abiding relationships, across its eastern shores. We also appear to forget that tourists from the East are now considered bigger spenders than their western counterparts.

Tourists from Buddhist countries often find that visiting India is a difficult, if not unpleasant, experience. I was saddened when Sri Lankan ladies spoke to me about the absence of adequate toilet facilities in Bodh Gaya. They face other shortcomings also, ranging from rip-offs by taxi drivers, absence of expressways to every tourist destination, absence of suitable hotel accommodation and harassment by beggars.  Tourist sites are not well connected by road, rail and air. Bhubaneswar does not have the necessary air connectivity with Sarnath and Bodh Gaya.

Given the long-term diplomatic and economic benefits of building up viable Buddhist tourism circuits in India, it is necessary to integrate our domestic efforts, with a diplomatic drive to seek the participation, involvement and investment of Buddhist countries in a cooperative effort for building integrated Buddhist circuits for tourism in India. Notably, the involvement of China, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal is imperative. The governments of UP Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Odisha would also have to participate in this effort. Any Buddhist tourism circuit would necessarily involve emphasis on a link to Lumbini in Nepal, where the Buddha was born. Moreover, Buddhist countries should be welcomed to make their architectural and aesthetic contributions, including exhibitions, for displaying their own cultural and spiritual heritage, in Buddhist tourism destinations in India.

Having lived in and worked with Buddhist countries one can assert that India is respected there primarily because it is home of the Buddha and Emperor Ashoka, who spread the Sakya Muni's message of renunciation and peace across the world.  The message should be that India wishes to welcome more pilgrims from there. The Department of Tourism has imaginatively drawn up three distinct tourism circuits ("Dharma Yatra" or the "Sacred Circuit") for visits to Buddhist pilgrimage places.  With around 500 million Buddhists living beyond our borders, primarily to our east, it is imperative that, as the focal point of Buddhist heritage and spirituality, our "Act East" interactions with our eastern neighbours are imaginative and sensitive.

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