Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers his address in Lumbini on the occasion of Buddha Purnima.PM Narendra Modi, in his speech at the Buddha Jayanti event in Lumbini, said India and Nepal relations are unshakeable like the Himalayas. He also said that India and Nepal’s ever-strengthening friendship will benefit the entire humanity in the emerging global situation.
PM Modi and Nepalese PM Sher Bahadur Deuba Monday held bilateral talks in Lumbini after laying the foundation stone of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage. Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi called it an “opportunity to strengthen ongoing cooperation and develop new areas in our multifaceted partnership.” Earlier, PM Modi had offered prayers at the Maya Devi temple. Sharing images from the visit, Modi tweeted, “I feel blessed to have prayed at the Maya Devi Temple on Buddha Purnima.” The PM was received by his Nepalese counterpart Monday morning as he arrived in Lumbini.
The construction of the Buddhist Centre comes decades after most foreign nations, including the US, China, Canada, France, Germany and Thailand, among others, built their centres in Lumbini as an instrument of promoting Buddhist philosophy. It is expected to cost Rs. 1 billion and take three years to complete.
The site for India’s Buddhist cultural centre. (Express photo by Yubaraj Ghimire)
Nepal's Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Monday inaugurated the country's second international airport built by China that will help connect Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha and a major tourist and pilgrimage destination, to Buddhist circuits in South Asia as well as to the rest of the world.
The $76 million Gautam Buddha International Airport was inaugurated on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lumbini on the occasion of Buddha Purnima and also held comprehensive talks with his Nepalese counterpart Deuba to expand bilateral cooperation in multiple areas, including in hydropower, development and connectivity between the two neighbouring countries. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first visit to Lord Buddha's birthplace Lumbini is expected to give the much-needed fillip to Nepal's tourism sector still reeling from the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, a prominent Nepalese tourism entrepreneur said Monday.
Modi at the invitation of his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba paid a day-long visit to Lumbini on the occasion of Buddha Purnima on Monday.
Modi's visit to Lumbini has sent a positive message to Nepal's tourism sector, which is reeling under the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, said Bikram Pandey, a tourism entrepreneur and goodwill ambassador of tourism for the Lumbini Development Trust. Modi's announcement that he is "honoured to be in Lumbini, to pay reverence at the sacred site of Lord Buddha's birth" will have a significant contribution in promoting pilgrimage tourism in Nepal, Pandey said. (PTI)
For long, Lumbini and its people felt uncomfortable, even angry, over the projection of the Buddha as Indian. There was also the feeling that it was being treated unfairly by Indian tour handlers. Package deals for tourists and pilgrims from across the world would only make a fleeting visit to the Buddha’s birth place, before being herded back to Buddhist shrines in India, denying Nepal its due economic gain.
Nearly eight years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to address this issue when he told Nepal’s Constituent Assembly that the Buddha was born in Nepal. On Buddha Poornima on Monday, Modi made a trip to Lumbini, becoming the first Indian PM to do so. He offered prayers at the Mayadevi temple, believed to be the Buddha’s birthplace, in the company of highly-respected Buddhist masters, and then laid the foundation for the International Buddhist Conference and Meditation Centre.
The trip, a month after Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba visited India, is being projected as a “cultural visit” but there are many who call it India’s late awakening from a deep diplomatic slumber. Delhi has been indifferent to the deep inroads China has been making in Nepal. Modi landed at a newly-built helipad close to the Mayadevi temple, avoiding the Gautam Buddha International Airport, built with a soft loan from China and co-incidentally inaugurated by his host earlier in the morning on the auspicious day. (Read more)
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of the 490 MW Arun-4 hydro electric project in Nepal has been signed in Lumbini, Nepal in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba, the company said in a statement Monday.
SJVN Chairman and Managing Director Nand Lal Sharma said it will be the third mega project to be constructed by the company in Nepal. The construction of 900 MW Arun-3 project is in progress and the 669 MW Lower Arun project is at the survey and investigation stage.
With the MoU, signed by Sharma and Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Managing Director Kulman Ghising, SJVN has three projects with a total capacity of 2,059 MW in Nepal. According to Sharma, SJVN is targeting to have 5,000 MW projects in Nepal by 2030. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that India and Nepal’s ever-strengthening friendship and their closeness will benefit the entire humanity in the emerging global situation.
Modi, who is in the Himalayan nation at the invitation of his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba on a day-long visit to Lumbini on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, also said that India and Nepal relations are unshakeable like the Himalayas.
“India and Nepal’s ever-strengthening friendship and our closeness will benefit the entire humanity in the kind of global conditions that are emerging,” Modi said while addressing the International Buddhist Conference in Lumbini. (Read more)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the India-Nepal relationship "unshakeable".
India and Nepal relations are unshakeable like the Himalayas, said PM Modi.
Continuing his speech at the event in Lumbini, PM Modi said: "The growing and strengthening friendship between India and Nepal will work for the benefit of entire humanity amid the kind of global situation that is emerging today. The devotion to Lord Buddha binds us together, and makes us members of one family."
PM Narendra Modi, in his speech Buddha Jayanti event in Lumbini, said the energy of the place where Lord Buddha was born gave him a different feeling.
The Prime Minister also referred to a Mahabodhi sapling that he had gifted in Nepal in 2014.
Nepalese PM Sher Bahadur Deuba began his speech at Buddha Jayanti event in Lumbini by welcoming PM Modi
"Extremely happy today to welcome PM Modi to this sacred land of Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha - the apostle of peace. Delighted to have the presence of PM Modi at this special ceremony in this sacred land," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Nepal for an official visit, is set to deliver his address in Lumbini on the occasion of Buddha Purnima.
The program begins with the national anthems of Nepal and India, Sayaun Thunga Phulka and Jana Gana Mana, respectively, reported Doordarshan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nepal saw the signing of six Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements between India and Nepal. They are as follows:
Sharing images of PM Modi and Deuba holding bilateral talks in Lumbini, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi called it an “opportunity to strengthen ongoing cooperation and develop new areas in our multifaceted partnership.”
PM Modi's visit to Nepal is focused on bringing soft power to the centrestage of India-Nepal relations. In a statement ahead of his visit, Modi had said, "I also look forward to meeting Prime Minister Deuba again after our productive discussions during his visit to India last month. We will continue to build on our shared understanding to expand cooperation in multiple areas, including in hydropower, development and connectivity.”
Sharing images of his visit to the Maya Devi temple, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "I feel blessed to have prayed at the Maya Devi Temple on Buddha Purnima. May Lord Buddha bless us all and make our planet peaceful and prosperous."
Post the foundation-laying ceremony for the Centre for Buddhist culture & heritage belonging to the International Buddhist Confederation, PM Modi along with Nepal PM Deuba participated in slogan chanting in Lumbini.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday laid the foundation stone of the Buddhist Centre in Lumbini and unveiled a model of the proposed structure.
Photos: Twitter/Arindam Bagchi
The India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in the Lumbini Monastic Zone in Nepal is expected to cost INR 1 billion and take three years to complete.
The Centre will be constructed by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), New Delhi, on a plot allocated to IBC by the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT), under an agreement between IBC and LDT signed in March 2022, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
Once completed, the Centre will be a world-class facility welcoming pilgrims and tourists from all over the world to enjoy the essence of spiritual aspects of Buddhism. It will be a modern building, NetZero compliant in terms of energy, water and waste handling, and will house prayer halls, meditation centers, library, exhibition hall, cafeteria, offices and other amenities, the MEA added.
PM Modi autographed a sketch depicting him and Lord Buddha as he arrived in Lumbini, among chants of 'Vande Matram'.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepalese PM Sher Bahadur Deuba Monday laid the foundation stone of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage in Lumbini.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepalese PM Sher Bahadur Deuba Monday laid the foundation stone of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage at a plot belonging to the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), Delhi, in Lumbini.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepalese PM Sher Bahadur Deuba Monday participated in the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage in Lumbini. The Centre is expected to cost INR 1 billion and take three years to complete.
PM Modi offered prayers at the Maya Devi Temple in Lumbini along with Nepal PM Deuba.
On his way back to Delhi, PM Modi will be visiting Mahaparinirvana Temple in Kushinagar, UP, which is said to be the place where Lord Buddha attained nirvana. He is also scheduled for a brief stopover in Lucknow to meet CM Yogi Adityanath.
Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sher Bahadur Deuba were pictured watering the Bodhi tree together at the Maya Devi Temple in Lumbini. Sharing the image over Twitter, the PM's office called it "a timeless bond of friendship".
Sharing an image with Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked him for a warm welcome in Lumbini.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Lumbini on Monday (May 16), the 2,566th birth anniversary of the Buddha, to lay the foundation of a monastery and to address a celebration at the Maya Devi temple. India will join more than a dozen countries including China, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea to have a monastery of its own in the global project.
As he spends several hours in Nepal on Monday, Modi will become the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Lumbini. He had expressed a desire to visit Lumbini during his first official visit to Nepal as Prime Minister in July 2014 — he had, in an address to the Constituent Assembly of Nepal on that occasion, acknowledged the birth of the Buddha in that country, reassuring Nepali sentiment that India would not try to appropriate it. Read why PM Modi's visit to Nepal is significant.
PM Narendra Modi and Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba offered prayers at the Mahamayadevi Temple in Lumbini, Nepal, on Monday.
PM Modi offered prayers at the Maya Devi temple on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. He was accompanied by Nepal PM Deuba. Following this, he will participate in a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage.
After landing in Lumbini, PM Modi tweeted, "Happy to be among the wonderful people of Nepal on the special occasion of Buddha Purnima. Looking forward to the programmes in Lumbini."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was received by Nepalese PM Sher Bahadur Deuba Monday morning as he arrived in Lumbini, Nepal. After offering prayers at the Maya Devi temple, he will participate in a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage on the occasion of Buddha Purnima.
PM Modi will be arriving in Lumbini, Nepal shortly. Lumbini, considered as the birthplace of Lord Buddha, is a pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal.
During his visit to Nepal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be marking the occasion of Buddha Purnima by laying the foundation stone of the Buddhist Centre and offering prayers at Maya Devi Temple.
On Monday morning, the PM tweeted, "On Buddha Purnima we recall the principles of Lord Buddha and reiterate our commitment to fulfil them."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to arrive in Lumbini, Nepal at around 10 am. Following which, he will be visiting the Maya Devi Temple.
At 11 am, he's expected to lay the foundation stone of the Buddhist Centre. He will then hold a bilateral meeting with Nepalese PM Sher Bahadur Deuba and other officials.
Lastly, at around 2 pm, he's expected to address a Buddha Jayanti event, before heading back to Delhi. He's also slated to meet with CM Yogi Adityanath and other ministers during a brief stopover in Lucknow.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be travelling in a helicopter from Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh to Lumbini, Nepal. He is expected to first go to the Maya Devi temple to offer prayers, before laying the foundation stone for the Buddhist centre.
Though there has been no official word yet, indications are that “developmental issues” are likely to be discussed when the two prime ministers, joined by officials from two sides, hold a meeting before Deuba hosts a lunch in Modi’s honour. India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra recently stated that the two countries will pick up from where they left during Deuba’s three-day visit to India last month.
The two sides had discussed the need to sort out border disputes, especially the Lipulekh dispute that flared up in 2018-19, but Deuba’s three-day visit had ended without a joint communique.
Apart from discussing the proposed Buddhist Tourist Circuit, a senior government official in Kathmandu said, "It’s likely that the two PMs will also discuss ways to explore harnessing of the West Seti River that flows through western Nepal."
A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday said PM Modi will be visiting Lumbini at the invitation of Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. “I am honoured to follow in the footsteps of millions of Indians to pay reverence at the sacred site of Lord Buddha’s birth. I also look forward to meeting Prime Minister Deuba again after our productive discussions during his visit to India last month. We will continue to build on our shared understanding to expand cooperation in multiple areas, including in hydropower, development and connectivity.”
PM Modi and PM Deuba are also scheduled to jointly address a congregation of people, including lamas.
PM Narendra Modi departed for Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh Monday morning. Modi’s helicopter ride from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh will terminate at a newly built helipad in Lumbini.
India’s Ministry of Tourism has collaborated with Nepal to build a trans-national Buddhist Tourist Circuit to trace the footsteps of Buddha, starting from Lumbini and concluding at Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar. An international airport was recently inaugurated at Kushinagar.
Sources said the two PMs -- Modi and Deuba -- will discuss the proposed Buddhist circuit linking Lumbini with Kushinagar, Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda and Sarnath, among other centres linked to Buddha’s legacy. This will be in addition to the project to build the Ramayana circuit linking various sites in the two countries.
PM Modi will participate in the stone-laying ceremony of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage in Lumbini.
He will offer prayers at the Mayadevi temple in Lumbini and deliver an address at a Buddha Jayanti event organised by the Lumbini Development Trust.
PM Modi will also meet Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to "to build on our shared understanding to expand cooperation in multiple areas, including in hydropower, development and connectivity."
Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates from Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi's visit to Lumbini, Nepal!