Lessons to learn

Abhilasha Rayamajhi

With the objective to promote Buddhist pilgrimage in India, 5th International Buddhist Conclave 2016 was organised by the Government of India, Ministry of Tourism.  State Governments of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar played an active role in the international conclave. Around 300 delegates from 39 countries participated in the event which took place from October 2 to October 6.

Buddhist monks, scholars, journalists, travel writers, government officials, travel agents, tour operators and other delegates from around the world were invited to the prestigious programme. Fortunately I received this opportunity to witness this spiritual conclave as a representative from Nepal. The inauguration was held on New Delhi and the delegates visited Varanasi, Saranath, Nalanda, Rajgir and Bodh Gaya in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

All the delegates were warmly welcomed and hosted by the Government of India. Chavanee Tongroach, Vice Minister of Tourism and Sports of Kingdom of Thailand shared that the conclave was an enriching and spiritual experience. Visiting places like Bodh Gaya and Sarnath was quite fascinating for almost all the delegates.

The international conclave was held in New Delhi and Bodhgaya in February 2004, Nalanda and Bodhgaya in February 2010, Varanasi and Bodhgaya in September 2012 and 2014. The programme included presentations, B2B meetings, cultural performance, site visits, networking, and meditation sessions.

One of the major arguments in almost all the presentations was to develop and promote Buddhist Circuits in India and in the SAARC region where Buddhist monasteries and heritages are present.

The Ministery of Tourism, Government of India has sanctioned an amount of IRs 132.17  till date for development of Buddhist circuit in India under its 'Swadesh Darshan Scheme'. The Tourism Minister of India, Dr Mahesh Sharma stated that Uttar Pradesh, the Ministry of Tourism will sanction IRs 99.97 million for infrastructure development of Buddhist circuit covering Saravasti, Kapilvastu and Kushinagar.

The four major sites of pilgrimage for followers of Buddha are Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Khusinagar. Lumbini where Buddha was born, Bodh Gaya where he attained enlightenment, Sarnath where he gave his first sermon and Kushinagar where he chose for his final exit from the earth. Additionally, Nalanda, Rajgir, Vaishali and Sravasti are other scared sites in India where Buddha had travelled.

Buddhist Circuit is not complete without Lumbini. Therefore, this international conclave has definitely helped in promoting Lumbini and tourism in Nepal. It also provided a platform for the Nepali delegates to promote Lumbini as the birthplace of Nepal.

The travel and tour operators from India, Srilanka and other countries complained that Lumbini lacks proper road connectivity and communication facilities. During a networking session one tour operator from Srilanka said that they used to have Lumbini in our package but now they are not including it because of the poor road connectivity, lack of communication and coordination from concerned authorities. There is no information on whom to contact if they need facilities such as wheelchair for those who are unable to walk inside the pilgrimage. 

Political interferences and personal interests must not come in the way of development of such a sacred site. It is high time for the holistic development of Lumbini for economic prosperity of the nation.

Government of India, Ministry of tourism has a clear vision of how to promote the right destinations to the right markets. They understand the global market for cultural and religious tourism. It is high time for the Government of Nepal to learn lessons from the Indian Government and aggressively market Buddhist pilgrimages in Nepal.

Many people in the world still do not know where the birthplace of Buddha is and even numerous Nepali have not visited Lumbini. During my conversations with journalists from South Africa and United Kingdom I realised that even they are not aware about the birthplace of Buddha. In such scenario how can we tap even the spill over tourists from India in such a scenario?

Therefore, the Government of Nepal and private sector must be serious about promoting Lumbini as the birthplace of Buddha to the national as well as in the global market. Rather than just creating slogans and speeches stating ‘Buddha was born in Nepal’, we should take immediate actions for the development of Lumbini by learning lessons on how to promote destinations and reach out to the global markets from our southern neighbours.

 (The printed version of this article was published on The Himalayan Times on October 20, 2016)