The government today said there was a need for generating "attractive and workable" alternatives to provide better connectivity and infrastructure facilities to pilgrims and tourists in the Buddhist circuit.
"India is the place of origin of Buddhism. We are deeply conscious of its important position, among the Buddhist countries. To facilitate spread of Buddha's teachings, the government has constituted a committee under the Chairmanship of former Planning Commission member B Mungekar," Culture Minister Chandresh Kumar Katoch told a conference on Developing the Buddhist Pilgrimage (Circuit) in India here.
Developing Buddhist circuit is one of the recommendations of the committee, she said, adding "we have to generate attractive but workable alternatives for better connectivity and infrastructural facilities for both pilgrims as well as other tourists".
A number of important places connected with the Buddha like the place of his enlightenment (Bodhgaya), the place of his first sermon (Sarnath) and the place of his Mahaparinirvana (Kushinagar) are all located in India.
Reaffirming commitment to preserve, protect and promote Buddha's teachings and values of love, compassion and non-violence, Katoch said her ministry was supporting Buddhist educational institutions located at Sarnath, Leh, Nalanda and Bomdila.
"Apart from providing regular funding to various Buddhist institutions and individuals working to spread the Buddha's teachings, the government was committed to take up initiatives that would enable people to visit the places where Siddhartha was born, got enlightenment and became the Buddha, shared his wisdom and himself travelled great distances to benefit the needy and liberate them from their sufferings," she said.
According to her, besides the already-known important spots connected with the life and teachings of the Buddha, there was a need to identify unchartered territories which deserve to be identified, developed and connected.
