Buddha Relics Draw Devotees to Leh Amid Statehood Tensions

Leh: There is tension in the air in Leh. Oxygen is very low, and air so thin that it is difficult for “outsiders” from the Union Territory to breathe normally. Possibly, that is the way nature has kept Leh-Ladakh safe from “cultural invasion,” something that the people of this place have been fighting for the last several months ever since Ladakh became a UT. But spiritually burns all ill-will, and Buddhism teaches patience.

Amid tussle for Sixth Schedule and statehood for protection of their cultural identity, the Holy Relics of Buddha bring relief to nearly 1.5 lakh Buddhists of the UT who are travelling from all across the place for an exposition that will be open for public from Friday, when Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the celebrations of 2569th Vesak Buddha Purnima.

These relics originate from Piprahwa, in Uttar Pradesh, the site historically identified with ancient Kapilavastu, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha.

Mr Shah, like all others from outside the UT, had flown a day ahead to get acclimatised to the weather conditions of Leh. With palpable tension over talks on the Sixth Schedule and statehood, Buddhists groups and the Union Territory government have tried to delink Mr Shah's visit with upcoming talks on the issue on May 22. The Ladakh Gompa Association and Ladakh Buddhist Association have asked the government to keep the two issues separate. However, through the day Mr Shah held meetings with Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance. The two bodies that have joined the struggle for statehood and Sixth Schedule and opposed privatisation of the power sector in the UT.

While the Ladakhi citizens are determined for the Sixth Schedule to preserve their culture, identity and environment, no one wants to discuss it now when Buddha’s relics are here. They are happy that the exposition of the relics begin from Ladakh and the Union Government has taken much pain in making the event a memorable experience.

The relics that arrived from New Delhi through a special Indian Air Force plane on Wednesday have been kept in a strong room in a specially made box. On Friday, it will be taken out and following a procession in the city will be placed at Jivetsal, the designated venue, amid chanting by monks, for public exposition, where Mr Shah, after prayers, will make it public. Roughly 1.5 lakh Buddhists from across the UT and neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir will be able to view the sacred relics that will be kept in Leh from May 1 to 15. Buddhists make the second largest population in Ladakh after Muslims in the UT that has a population of roughly 3 lakh. A large number of envoys from countries where Buddhism is practised prominently will also witness the event.

“It is like Buddha himself coming to Leh,” said Wangtak Gonjong, a local official.

“Yesterday was magic,” recalled Dawa, a local tourist cab driver while talking about the arrival of relics. “There was rain, then there was sunshine and then there was a beautiful rainbow. Such a magic happens when His Holinees Dalai Lama comes to Leh,” Dereki said. Leh is the Dalai Lama’s summer home, where he often stays in July.

According to Union Minister of Culture Mr Gajendra Shekhawat, who is actively involved in this monumental event, wrote in an editorial piece, “The Government of India recognises Ladakh as one of the most important living centres of Buddhist culture in the world. We are committed to safeguarding its unique cultural traditions…For centuries, Ladakh has held the flame. Through brutal winters, geopolitical pressures, the isolation of altitude, and the remoteness of high passes, the people of Ladakh have kept the Dharma alive with a fidelity that humbles every institution and government. It is entirely fitting, then, that India’s first historic public exposition of the Tathagata relics does not take place in a climate-controlled museum in a metropolitan city. It takes place here, on the Roof of the World, where faith is the very architecture of daily life… Bringing them (relics) to Ladakh is, in the most literal sense possible, a homecoming.”

Many Buddhists of the UT have also rushed back from different places to view the relics. For Buddhists in Ladakh, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Ahead of D-Day, the city has been swept clean, and things are all lined up. Hotels are all packed. Security beefed up. Yes, there is tension in the air, but no one is minding it.