By: Dr. Suresh Bhatia
India is the only Country that can boast of having inherited the only documented heritage that dates back to the 3rd Century B.C. when King Asoka commissioned the erection of pillars with edicts that spoke of Buddhist faith. He also had Stupas built all over the Indian continent which were commemorations of his having not only accepted the Dhamma but of ruling a gigantic kingdom strictly to the code of ethics as taught by the Buddha, which the later Traditions mention that these Stupas were built over the ash and bone relic of the Buddha, when King Asoka had the original stupas, built by eight kings within a short period of the Blessed One’s Mahaparinirvana. He had these original Stupas opened and distributed the remains into eighty four thousand stupas to mark the complete Teachings of the Buddha. The Scriptures also tell us that the original Architect of the creation of the Stupa was the Buddha himself. Towards the end of His preaching mission, two of his senior disciples, Sariputta and Maha Mogalian died before him, and the Buddha had their relics placed in stupas, which was created exactly to his specifications. During the Blessed One’s lifetime, we also learn that Viharas, as we can see from inscriptions and the mention in the Scriptures of magnificent homes and meditation centers were built by benevolent kings and merchants at Sravasti, Rajgir, Kausambi and a number of other kingdoms. The next part of the project will be to explore the State of Uttar Pradesh – where the Blessed One stayed and preached for a large period of time.

Over the century’s right from the 3rd century B.C., onwards we have evidence of Kings and rich merchants having built fabulous monasteries, railings and stupas in remembrance of the Buddha and the sublime Dhamma he preached. With time and circumstances, they fell to dis-repair, some were restored over and over again like the Mahabodhi Temple, others like Kausambi were destroyed by the Huns renegades in the 4th century A.D. and forgotten about and the ruins were only mentioned by the few Chinese pilgrims who visited India to pursue a  study of the Dhamma. The records left behind by them have been valuable to us as much as they were the ‘path of progress’ for the British Archaeologists who spent a large portion of the 19th Century tracing the sites that had been in oblivion for some centuries. Apart from the sites, Buddhism too had lost its popularity with the population of India. I will not go into the controversies of who were the major villains in causing devout monks to flee to safer kingdoms so they could continue to spread the words of the Buddha.

This little introduction was only to remind all of you that Buddhism had followers who were devout and generous when it came to creating the very best in art and architecture- many of these monuments have withstood the ravages of time to the extent that the ruins have not been totally lost. Many of them are in remote areas of which either pilgrims are not aware of its existence or unreachable for lack of proper roads or exist in areas where Communist militants reside, nor has the Archaeological Survey of India officers ever bothered to visit them– or maybe they too are not even aware that such sites exist. Coming to the point, I would like to narrate an event I observed in Sarnath. I had the opportunity of meeting a monk from Laos, who walked bare foot, wore a patched robe and carried no money and was a true monk who begged for his food. He also spoke only his native language and had been given an Air ticket by some benevolent person to visit the Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India. There he was in front of the Archaeological site wishing to enter the site which he believed was the true site where the Buddha turned the ‘Wheel of the Dhamma Cakra.’ The guards at the gate of the Archaeological site were rough with him and literally pushed him out as he did not have the money to pay for an entrance ticket. He was bewildered that he was not being allowed inside. I was at that time doing a survey of the site for a critical article on the excavation of the site done by the British Archaeologists. I was told about the unpleasant event by a friend who had only minutes ago witnessed the event and the monk from Laos much agitated of being deprived of his rights. I rushed out, met the monk and bought him a ticket for Rs.100/- to enter. The event left a bad impression in my mind. I see the Archaeological Survey of India as a ‘Business House’ interested in making money and nothing else. I began a campaign against this practice and eventually the ASI reduced the fees for SAARC Countries at par with what they charged Indians. In the last six decades since the Nation attained Independence, the Archaeological Survey of India has not even undertaken the excavation of a dozen Buddhist sites anywhere in India. The only ones that come to mind is Vikramasila in Bhagalpur, Bihar, Adi Badri in Gujrat, Girriak hill, Nalanda, if other sites have been excavated – none of them have been added to the list of ‘Tourist sites’ of any State Government Tourism  Department. It is time that we reviewed the working system of the Archaeological Department.

First of all there is a dire need that the Laws of the Archaeological Survey of India, created by the Britishers in 1862 (and marginally updated in 1952), which were created at a time when Buddhism had become a novelty and a pre-occupation of the Englishmen who were virtually ‘bounty hunters.’ Buddhism during this period of time had ceased to exist on the plains of Northern India as a practiced religion, hence the Laws were created for the Indian populace from owning images and the ‘British Sahibs’ armed with a legal document could confiscate images, which invariably they took back to England mostly as part of ‘private collections.’ Only a few went to the British and Indian Museum. These very Laws are still being followed by The Archaeological Survey of India, in spite of the fact that Buddhism, thanks to Baba Sahib Bhim Rao Ambedkar, has not only revived but has found a place of acceptance in its original home i.e. Maharashtra as well as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh – the middle land where the Buddha spent 45 years preaching the Dhamma as well as other parts of India. The sites mentioned in the Scriptures have become places of pilgrimage again not only for the Indian Buddhists but also to the Asian and Western Buddhists who come here to venerate the footsteps of the Blessed One. These Redundant Laws need to be radically over- hauled so that they meet the requirements of: (A) Cordiality from the ASI Department– not Colonial arrogance, as it is presently being perpetuated by the staff of this Department. (B) The norms should be created to be ‘Pilgrim Friendly.’ (C) That the Archaeological Survey of India, should form Committees in collaboration with the Sangha or Learned persons who follow the Buddhist faith – so as to get comprehensive details of how to develop and maintain the sites. (D) If there is a necessity to charge an entrance fee – then the rate should be uniform for all pilgrims irrespective from what part of the world they come from. Also the Sacred site, such as Sarnath should be made free for entry – without any entrance fee what-so-ever being charged.(E) The pilgrims should be given the right by the Archaeological Survey of India to perform their rituals for days or weeks at any site – as per their requirement as is the practice at the Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya.

There are also a number of sites noticed by the British Archaeologists in the nineteenth century – sites that have a place of reverence to the devotees of the Dhamma. Yet till date, nothing has been done about excavating them and they are presently desolate forgotten places used by other religions as places of burial or for worship, while the Buddhists remain un-informed about them. This has got to be stopped immediately. The Buddhists will have to unite and set up their own Committee to take stock on how to preserve their ‘forgotten’ sites – and if the necessity be to even personally restore them at their own expense. There would also be a necessity to form a committee for preserving and protecting them. Such radical changes, after all such will bring in, above all additional revenue to the State where the ruins exist as it will promote tourism, as more devotees will definitely visit the places where the sites exist, as well as create an income for the local inhabitants living around the venues. It will also help develop vocational centers, schools and medical care centers where none exists till now. It is a known fact, that most of the places visited by the Buddha during his lifetime were prosperous cities or kingdoms then, today with the change of history, most of them (except for a few places) have become remote villages – many of them do not even have basic facilities such as proper supply of water and electricity. In some places I have observed that children have to walk many Kilometers to go to a Government primary school or women and children too have to walk long distances to reach a Government medical center only to find that neither the doctor is present nor are medicines available. By these ‘forgotten sites’ being brought on to the Buddhist circuit, help could be offered to the local people. These are some of the advantages compassionate Buddhists congregations would offer to fellow beings. Another point I need to emphasize is that Buddhists are not involved in conversion – as many people from other religions fear. This is not true. Their main objective is to serve the suffering people irrespective of whatever religion they believe in. The Dhamma belongs to India; the Buddha spent 45 years walking the length and breadth of ‘the middle-land’ which comprised of the present State of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. It is true that he left behind the ‘foot prints’ of a pure philosophy that spoke of non-violence, brotherhood, casteless society, awareness to one’s own actions and living on a right path of honesty etc. All these teachings are very much relevant even today in the 21st Century where strife, militancy and insurgency from neighbouring Countries as well as within the Country. Caste and anti-religious strife are also common day occurrences – I am sure that understanding the teachings of the Buddha could give a person a better understanding to live in harmony with each other– and will not change their present religion. The only conversion that will happen will be that people will become more aware and responsible for their actions and nothing else. To give you an example of two eminent personalities of our Country; Shri Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatama Gandhi to a large extent followed the Doctrine of the Buddha. Mahatama Gandhi’s principle of ‘Ahimsa’ was influenced by the principles taught by the Blessed One, the Buddha.

Hence, if the Archaeological department were to update the obsolete Laws written by the Britishers in 1862 and modify it to the need of the present day – taking into consideration that a law written nearly 200 years ago  is absolutely redundant today. India needs a role model for ‘peace and sanctity.’ There is only one solution, rather than remain aloof and arrogant, they need to step down and come to a closer understanding with the Buddhist Sangha with a view to preserve ancient Buddhist Sites that have not been restored till now. It is now high time that the Cultural Department of the Government of India and the Archaeological Department took up this subject seriously.

There is another malady which we cannot deny is that the Nation’s population is growing rapidly, and there is a greater need for land for housing and agriculture – and Buddhist sites which are in total ruins will be razed to the ground and the Government will not even be aware of it. Such incidents have happened in the past too, Nalanda University was being stripped of its stones by the local people for building their homes in 1872, till Mr. A.M. Broadley stopped the plunder by excavating the site and restored what was left of the monuments. The University of Vikramashila suffered similar damage and the Telhara monastery, near Nalanda has been reduced to agricultural fields. A total inventory of the British Records will shock us of the irreparable damage that has already happened. We need to salvage whatever exists of our Heritage sites and we are offering the Cultural Department an opportunity to avail of our assistance in jointly working to preserve a heritage that will be visted by pilgrims globally – and thereby bring additional Foreign revenue to the Nation. One will have to admit that times have changed, pilgrims do not come to heritage sites only to be told by guides what had existed there or to look at the clumsy renovation attempts, some of which could very well be called perversions rather than restorations. It is a known fact that the ASI lacks adequate funding, academic support from Universities as it prefers to work in isolation; availability of restoration technologies that Archaeologists have in the West. We need to change ancient concepts, what the pilgrims need today are living shrines – not dead monuments maintained by archaeologists which leave damaged art untouched. But living shrines where repair and replacement of damaged art, and this too is intrinsic to our cultural heritage. So we have two cultural heritages both are very different. Both have a strong logic of their own. There is indeed a case of leaving ancient monuments largely untouched, after making basic repairs. And there is indeed a case for living shrines to constantly maintain and even expand their structures. It would be an excellent idea if we can create living shrines in the neighborhood - that aim to recapture the spirit and quality of the ancient tradition. These new living shrines must not be government run: that would be a recipe of corruption and cultural nightmares. Instead, religious bodies should be invited to set up replicas of the original structure that existed at the site. We sincerely hope the Government does something to urgently consider such a proposal. If not we will have  to resort to other means to claim our right to independently restore sites  as has been recently done by the Asian Cultural Center, Bodh Gaya, who have already preserved the Gurpa hill famously known as Kukkutapada Giri stupa, the site related to the final meditation of Maha Kassapa, a favourite disciple of the Buddha – the site is in Bihar. Another fact that comes to mind is that there are still a number of ancient Buddhist sites that are not on the records of the ASI – nor were they visited by their predecessors, the British Archaeologists. An inventory of such sites will have to be made by the Buddhist themselves, as I see no other resort that we take care of our own sites. We invite Buddhist Monks and Scholars to join us in forming an Action Plan Committee. We shall appreciate if interested persons in India and Abroad may kindly send us information about them self latest by Feb. 15, 2010 and email it to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We shall also be undertaking exploration of Ancient sites in the total Himalayan region. We require resource persons and Scholars to help us with information to these sites. Persons interested in working with us should write to us within 15 days at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Buddhist Heritage is an Independent venture of the undersigned, who is deeply concerned about the preservation of the Buddhist Heritage of India. The work is enormous and till now we have worked without proper funding or any assistance from the Buddhist Sangha. We shall be much obliged for any financial support you can offer to the Project.

I look forward to your involvement in becoming a member of the Buddhist Heritage family.

Yours in the Dharma,

Suresh Bhatia

Director