IS UTTER PRADESH GOVERNMENT FAKING ANOTHER KAPILVASTU ?

[So I had asked the government of India what it would officially say about the controversy. They sent an email reply tome, posted as titled Reply From Government of India on Buddha Birth Place saying that "the desired information is not available in the record holdings of National Archives of India". Then on February 14, 2010 I wrote a paper on the Buddha birth place and posted offering a title as Nepal’s Lumbini: Where The Buddha Was Born. Then followed a series of debates particularly on Kapilvastu. In the meantime Kapilvastu Forumcame forward from India to debate Kapilvastu.]

By B. K. Rana

Up till now Indian scholars, journalists and writers claim Buddha was born in India which virtually is a claim that can’t be archaeologically evidenced to be true. But on the other hand the people of Nepal tell all that the Buddha was born at Lumbini in Nepal. The Himalayan Voice had published last year a series of discussions in which scholars from around the world took part. The fact is that the debate was earlier initiated with a title Where Was Buddha Born? at Indo_Eyrasia_ Research Yahoogroups on August 1, 2009, without any knowledge of on going ‘book controversy’. The Buddha birth place controversy again brought recently out by a writer had prompted a series of national and international fury over a book ‘The Post American World‘ published in 2008.

A group of people burned the book down in Chautara, Sindhupalchowk district, some 4 hours drive eastwards from Kathmandu. A Maoist lawmaker had even raised the issue, reading aloud the text in the book in front of the Nepalese parliamenterians. The Buddha birth place controversy is not new at all, it is there since August 24, 1928 as a news broke out in a local newspaper the ‘Daily Asha’ that an Ashokan inscription was discovered in Kapileswara of Orissa. The law maker and others seemed to have been concerned over the recent book only.

So I had asked the government of India what it would officially say about the controversy. They sent an email reply to me, posted as titled Reply From Government of India on Buddha Birth Place saying that “the desired information is not available in the record holdings of National Archives of India”. Then on February 14, 2010 I wrote a paper on the Buddha birth place and posted offering a title as Nepal’s Lumbini: Where The Buddha Was Born. Then followed a series of debates particularly on Kapilvastu. In the meantime Kapilvastu Forum came forward from India to debate Kapilvastu.

The Krishna Murari Shrivastava Report on Piprahawa and Ganwaria is compelling – there is no doubt about it but Nepal’s Tilaurakot stands more impressive to me. So I had proposed for further research and posted as titled: Reexcavations in and Around Tilaurakot, Piprahawa and Ganwaria Required; and Both the Nepalese and Indian Governments Should Form a Team of Experts for Further Exacavation and Examination of Kapilvastu. But Prof. Shudershan Raj Tiwari from Tribhuvan University Kathmandu put aside my call for re-excavation and posted an article Tilaurakot: The True And Only Contender For Kapilavastu. Now, UNESCO has been reported as supporting another excavation at Tilaurakot ( Kapilvastu in Nepal) from 2011 – 2015. It is nice to hear about them doing it so again. The Department of Archaeology, Kathmandu seems to be unwilling or sidelined for governmental redtapism.

But in the recent news on ‘Kapilvastu Mahotsav‘ organized by Utter Pradesh Government, the reporter writes the Buddha was born in Kapilvastu, which is also wrong information. It means there is yet another Kapilvastu in India also or, the historic one, as the Utter Pradesh Government seems to be believing up till now. There has been an uproar over the web that Utter Pradesh Government is ‘building’ a new ‘Kapilvastu’ in Aligadawa. We do not know why any Indian government would do so and for what ?

Last year, a concerned officer from Archaeological Survey of India, Field Office had sent an email to me saying that they were not faking any new Kapilvastu in Aligadawa. He had said ‘maintenance’ of any government property was a regular activity.

Now, UNESCO seems to be determined to settle the Kapilvastu Controversy, taking the same people who had excavated the site before: Prof. Robin Cunnigham and Kosh Prasad Acharya. Hope they will be able resolve the issue for ever.(Please read the full texts of news below as appeared online.)

@The Himalayan Voice

Some related news and articles:

Ban pledges support for Lumbini’s development

The new draft shows China’s desire to improve ties with Nepal through its heritage institutions

Survey begins at birth place of Buddha in Lumbini

UN-backed project to conserve Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal begins

And see this news:

UTTER PRADESH HOSTS ‘KAPILVASTU MAHOTSAV’ TO HIGHLIGHT TEACHINGS OF BUDDHA

[Kapilvastu is the birthplace of lord Buddha where large number of Buddhist monks from India and abroad were invited to the festival.]

By Pawan Shah (ANI)

Siddharthnagar (Uttar Pradesh), Jan.1 : A five-day long festival ‘Kapilvastu Mahotsav’ is being organised in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district to highlight the teachings of Lord Buddha.Kapilvastu is the birthplace of Lord Buddha where a large number of Buddhist monks from India and abroad were invited to the festival.

Jagdambika Pal, a Congress MP, said the development in the birthplace of Lord Buddha has not been given much importance but now mega projects are underway for the progress of the area.

“We, after trying very hard, convinced Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. Gautam Sengupta, Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India, came here to Siddharth Nagar. A major project is underway in which Kumari Sheilja, Union Tourism Minister has sanctioned five crore rupees,” said Pal.

Various folk singers and dancers performed at the festival.Ravindra Jain, a renowned Bollywood singer, said it was very saddening to see that in today’s world people are forgetting the teachings of Lord Buddha.

“An Indian prince had spread the message of peace and now the situations have changed so much that more than usJapan and China follow his teachings,” said Jain.

As per historical evidence, Kapilvastu was the ancient capital of Sakya clan of kings to which Buddha belonged.

Buddha left his palace in Kapilvastu at the age of 29 and revisited it 12 years later after attaining enlightenment.

Kapilvastu boasts of a large ‘Stupa’ (dome), which is said to have housed Buddha’s bone relics.

Buddha has achieved the ‘Enlightenment’ after 49 days of meditation, the result of which is now known as the ‘Four Noble Truths’ of the religion Buddhism.