Patna: Protests have erupted across India as Buddhist organizations express growing discontent over what they perceive as Hindu encroachment on the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar. Demonstrators from across the country, including regions like Ladakh, Mumbai, and Mysuru, are calling for full control of the revered site, regarded as the most sacred in Buddhism.

The Mahabodhi Temple has been under the joint management of Hindus and Buddhists for the past 76 years, as stipulated by the Bodh Gaya Temple Act, 1949. This Bihar state law mandates an eight-member management committee, split evenly between Hindus and Buddhists. However, protesters, including Buddhist monks, are demanding a repeal of the Act and exclusive Buddhist control over the site.

Buddhist leaders argue that the current management structure has allowed Hindu rituals and symbols to proliferate at the temple, thereby diluting its Buddhist identity. “The temple is being turned into another Hindu pilgrimage site,” said Devanand Lokhande of the Buddhist Society of India, pointing to the installation of Hindu deity idols as evidence.

Activists like Abhishek Bauddh question why Buddhists are forced to share control of their sacred site when no Hindu temple in India is managed by Buddhists. Despite numerous complaints to various levels of government, change has been slow, prompting a 2012 petition to the Indian Supreme Court that remains unheard.

Tensions escalated on February 27, when police forcibly removed Buddhist monks from the temple during a 14-day hunger strike. “Are we terrorists? Why can’t we protest in a temple that belongs to us?” asked Pragya Mitra Bodh of the National Confederation of Buddhists of India.

Protest leader Akash Lama has expressed skepticism regarding the current government’s willingness to address Buddhist concerns. He emphasized the community’s right to manage their sacred site, while Priyadarshi Telang of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi warned of potential global intervention from Buddhist organizations if the situation remains unresolved.

“We are not asking for Hindu temples,” Telang stated. “We are only demanding what is rightfully ours. If we let them take Bodh Gaya, what’s next? Will they erase Buddhism from India altogether?”