Advocate Moti Ram Meghwal, a Dalit rights activist, illustrates the emotional and eternal value of the Buddhist shrine and the struggle for its liberation. His views:
The Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya stands as the holiest site for Buddhists worldwide. This sacred location marks the exact spot where Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment and became the Buddha over 2,500 years ago. It has been the epicentre of Buddhist devotion, pilgrimage, and monastic learning for centuries. Despite repeated destruction, appropriation, and neglect, Mahabodhi has survived, thanks to the unwavering faith and efforts of Buddhists from across the world.
Today, however, the temple remains under Brahmin control, and protests to return it to Buddhist hands are gaining momentum, demanding the revocation of the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949, which unfairly grants Brahmins authority over a fundamentally Buddhist site.
Mahabodhi has been a purely Buddhist legacy. Historical and archaeological evidence overwhelmingly proves that the Mahabodhi complex has always been a Buddhist site, with no trace of Hindu ownership at any point in history.
The strongest evidence comes from the inscriptions and accounts of Emperor Asoka, who erected a temple at this site around 250 BCE. Asoka’s inscriptions, written in the Brahmi script, explicitly describe his patronage of Buddhism and his veneration of the Bodhi Tree, under which Buddha attained enlightenment. The remnants of Asoka’s diamond throne (Vajrasana)—the spot where Buddha sat in deep meditation—still exist, reaffirming the Buddhist origins of the site.
Chinese pilgrims like Fa Hian (5th century CE) and Hiuen Tsang (7th century CE) provided detailed accounts of Mahabodhi, describing its grandeur as a Buddhist vihara (monastery) surrounded by stupas, adorned with Buddhist relics, and maintained exclusively by Buddhist monks. No reference to Hindu worship or Brahminical rituals is found in these early records. The architectural features, inscriptions, and votive stupas discovered in excavations further prove that Mahabodhi was an uninterrupted center of Buddhist practice for centuries.
Historically, there have been multiple attempts to erase and appropriate Mahabodhi by vested interests. The first recorded attack on Mahabodhi came from Raja Shashanka in the 7th century CE, a Shaivite Brahminical king, who cut down the sacred Bodhi Tree in an attempt to eliminate Buddhism from the region. However, Buddhist rulers like Purna Varma restored the tree and protected it with walls. By the 11th and 12th centuries, the temple saw extensive repairs and restorations under the Buddhist rulers of Bengal and Burma, proving that it remained under Buddhist control during this period.
Unlike Nalanda, as suggested by historian DN Jha, there is no historical evidence that Mahabodhi was subjected to destruction. Jha argues that the decline of Buddhism in the region was not solely due to Turkic invasions but also to hostility from Brahmins, who viewed Buddhism as a threat to their dominance. After the fall of Nalanda, Buddhist presence in the region weakened significantly, paving the way for the gradual appropriation of Mahabodhi by local Hindu landlords.
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Over time, these landlords falsely claimed ownership and introduced Brahminical elements into the site. As Buddhism declined in India, Mahabodhi was slowly assimilated into Hindu traditions, leading to the present-day struggle over its rightful ownership.
By the 19th century, Burmese Buddhists attempted to restore the temple, but by this time, local Brahmins had already occupied it, performing Hindu rituals and falsely claiming ownership. The British, instead of restoring the site to Buddhists, allowed the Brahmins to remain in control. This injustice led to the great Buddhist revival movements of Anagarika Dharmapala, who campaigned tirelessly to reclaim Mahabodhi for Buddhists, but without full success.
Our current struggle is to reclaim the Buddhist heritage. Despite being a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a beacon of Buddhist heritage, Mahabodhi remains under partial Brahmin control due to the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949. This act, passed by the Bihar government, mandates that the temple’s management committee must always have a Hindu majority, even though the site is exclusively Buddhist.
This blatant legalized appropriation has sparked ongoing protests by Buddhists worldwide, demanding that the Indian government revoke the act and return the temple to Buddhist administration.
The Mahabodhi Temple is not just a monument; it is the spiritual heart of Buddhism. The evidence is irrefutable—this site was built by Buddhists, for Buddhists, and has been a sacred place of Buddhist pilgrimage for over two millennia. The continued Hindu occupation of the temple is a historical and ethical violation.
As Buddhist monks and activists continue to protest for their rightful claim, the world must recognize this grave injustice and support the movement to restore Mahabodhi to the Buddhist community. The Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949 must be repealed, and Mahabodhi must be governed by those to whom it truly belongs—the followers of the Buddha.
(The narrator is Buddhist and president of the Bahujan Mukti Party, Rajasthan wing)
As told to Abhishek Anand
