NAGPUR: The Japanese born. Buddhist monk, Bante Nagarjuna Surei Sasai, who is piloting the neo Buddhist struggle to get the exclusive custody of the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar will begin his second phase of the movement on April 14.
The Mahabodhi liberation movement began last year. The monk, who had led 250 Buddhists to stage a dharma outside Parliament in December, said he had suspended the agitation at the request of several Union ministers in view of the Ayodhya incidents.
Bante Sasai, who has now emerged as the undisputed leader of the neo Buddhist is on the single point Buddha Vihara issue, said the Union minister, Sitaram Kesar had assured him of all support. He had also asked Bante Sasai to submita detailed memorandum containing the demands. Ram Vilas Paswan, Sangahmitra Gautam and K.R.Rana had also promised Support to the monks.
The Buddhist leader said he would intensify the agitation since nothing positive had come out of the eight month hold Struggle, Since the neo Buddhist in Maharashtra had been worked up On the issue, Bante Sasai warned that he may not be able to ensure total nonviolence, though he had all along been trying to keep the movement peaceful.
The monk has described this as a last attempt to get the issue resolved in as pint of Understanding, Ina letter to the Bihar chief minister, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Bante Sasai has asked him when he would fulfill his promise of handling over the Mahabodhi temple to the Buddhists.
Bante Sasai said the World Buddhist Conference held recently in Taiwan had passed a resolution supporting the neo Buddhist movement for the managerial custody of the Mahabodhi temple. It had urged the government to hand over all other Buddha vihars to Buddhists for proper management The Buddhist monks also claimed to have received assurance from several embassies. “I do not want a defect confrontation with the Hindus. I am afraid that such an event may result in Buddhist vihar as being damaged by Hindu activists” The monk, who speaks Hindi with a Japanese accent, warned that the next phase of struggle may be intense. According to the Bodh Gaya MP, Dayan and Sahai, the struggle to Sct. control of the management of the Buddhist Vihara at Gaya has more to do with the revenue it Senates than religious sentiments. There is a feeling that the money is being pocketed: pandas managing the tem temple should be managed by the Buddhists according to him.
Meanwhile, the Muslim leader, Syed Shahabuddin, has suggested that Bante Sasai should form a common platform to “work for the liberation of many religious Shrines in the country.” The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which had objected to the Buddhist Movement for the exclusive custody of the Mahabodhi temples, argues that the movement is misguided as there is no quarrel between Hinduism and Buddhism he Hindu priests have been in the temple for years, The Hindus Never consider Lord Buddha a separate entity, but a reincarnation of Lord Vishnu.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 22, 1993
