India bets big on Buddhist tourism

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Government is taking initiatives to develop infrastructure for Buddhist tourism in an attempt to connect Southeast Asia to the important Buddhist sites in the country.

“We are developing infrastructure for Buddhist tourism, which is going to connect Southeast Asia with the important Buddhist sites of India. I am also very pleased that the government is a partner in the restoration of many Buddhist temples which also includes the centuries old Anand Temple in Bagan, Myanmar,” Modi said in his monthly radio programme “Mann Ki Baat”.

The Prime Minister said the country has inherited Lord Buddha’s wisdom. “Buddhism has forged a link between India and many Asian countries like China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar where Lord Buddha’s preachings were of their traditions,” he said.

“Today, when there is confrontation and human suffering prevalent everywhere in the world, Lord Buddha’s teachings show the way to rid hatred from the world with compassion. I wish people all over the world who revere Lord Buddha and believe in the principles of his compassion, an auspicious Buddha Purnima,” Modi said.

“The smiling Buddha is associated with an important event in India’s defense history,” Modi said while pointing out that a nuclear test was conducted in Pokhran, Rajasthan on Buddha Purnima on May 11, 1998.