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Bhante Vinachayra , a monk who leads the Mahabodhi Mahavihara Mukti Andolan, has appealed to the radical of the State to enactment successful ample numbers successful ‘Bodh Gaya liberation movement’ to beryllium held successful Delhi connected February 12, 2026, demanding that the authorities repeal the BT Act 1949 and manus implicit the Mahabodhi temple to Buddhist management.
He was addressing a gathering astatine Dhamma-Dhwaj Panchasheel Dhamma Yatra league present connected Saturday.
Bhante Vinacharya said that the combat for Mahabodhi was the combat for liberation and justice. It was the combat against brahmanism whose cardinal principles of inequality and favoritism straight posed a menace to the peaceful and adjacent societies that Buddhism tried to cultivate.
Claiming that aft Christianity and Islam, Buddhism was the world’s 3rd largest religion, the monk said that unfortunately the Bodhi temple — 1 of Buddhism’s holiest sites — was managed by a committee that included members from Buddhist and Hindu faiths.
Highlighting the uniqueness of the Bodh Gaya, Bhante Vinacharya said that the celebrated spiritual structures were solely identified either with the commencement oregon decease of saints oregon beatified figures, whereas the Bodh Gaya was the ineffable spot wherever Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment aft meditating for six years continuously nether the Bodhi tree.
Recalling the traces of the Bodhi temple liberation movement, the monk said that the combat to “liberate Bodh Gaya from different faiths” run was led by Anagarika Dhammapala, a Sri Lankan Buddhist, successful 1891. Later Devapriya Valisinha led the Bodhi temple liberation run nether the aegis of Mahabodhi Society.
During this period, helium claimed that the Buddhist colonisation was precise negligible successful Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, portion they were tiny but important successful States specified arsenic Karnataka, Odisha and West Bengal. He besides lauded the contributions made by the Buddhists from Karnataka during the question astatine its archetypal stage.
He said Mahabodhi was the continuous thread successful the past of Buddhism not lone successful India but passim the Buddhist world.
Mauryan emperor Ashoka adopted Buddhism successful 263 BCE aft the Kalinga warfare and Babasaheb Ambedkar embraced Buddhism successful a ceremonial called Dhamma Deeksha astatine Nagpur connected October 14, 1956.
Bhante Vinacharya appealed to Buddhists and followers of Ambedkar to articulation the Bodhi temple liberation question successful Delhi connected February 12, 2026. “We request to foster solidarity among Buddhists passim India for this cause,” helium said.
Bhante Payyananda from Latur, Maharashtra, Bhante Amarjyothi from Belamagi Buddha Vihar, Bhante Vara Jyothi from Anadur Buddha Vihar, Bhante Yash from Solapur, Bhante Dhamma Deepa and Bhante Sangharakshith from Bidar were present.
