GAYA: Buddhist of India will commence a peaceful march from Bombay on September 27 to terminate it at Bodh Gaya on October 22 to highlight occupation of Buddhist shrines by Brahmans for several centuries.
The March plan is a political reply to the Hindu fundamentalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad to destroy Babri Masjid at Ayodhya to build a Ram temple there.
According to the plan formulated by an action committee headed by a Japanese monk settled for decades in India, Bhante Arya, Nagarjun Surai Sarai, the marchers will pass through Nagpur, Sarnath, Rajgir, and Delhi where important Buddhist shrines are located and have been in the possession of Brahmans.
Buddhists are a mass-rooted force in Maharashtra where followers of Ambedkar have been attracted to the march plan while elsewhere in the counuy the minority religion has a strong pockets of influence, The marches will stay at Nagpur for three days on route to Bodh Gaya. Nagpur is also a stronghold of the Brahman fundamentalist organization, R.S.S. The marchers will also hold a demonstration at the Boat Club at Delhi on October 14. The Buddhists have been agitating for more than 100 years for the transfer of the Bodh Gaya temple to Buddhists. The agitation was started in 1891 by a Sri Lankan Buddhist, Angarika Dharampal but the protracted litigation yielded no results. In 1949, Indian Brahman Prime Minister Nehru had a legislation passed to provide for a joint management of the shrine by Buddhists and Brahmans. The law provided that a majority of the management would have Brahmans, not Buddhists.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 2, 1992
