Image-building exercise: Bihar woos Buddhist delegates

The delegation has been invited by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for a visit to the Buddhist circuit. Apart from Buddhist monks and nuns, the group also comprises of high ranking officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs including Vice Ministers and media persons from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand. During their four day stay the delegation will visit Buddhist heritage sites in Patna, Vaishali, Nalanda, Rajgir and Bodh Gaya before leaving for Varanasi. Indian Airlines has made available a special flight to transport the pilgrims to Patna and fly them back from Varanasi. The state Government has made elaborate security arrangements for the visiting delegation.

Since the new Government took over, about one and a half years back, it has been actively trying to use the Buddhist heritage of the state to build a brand image for Bihar outside the country. This will be the third major group of Buddhist pilgrims from Asian countries to visit the state. Earlier the visit by two such delegates from China had brought the state into focus at the international level.

The most significant effort in this direction is to set up an international university at Nalanda with cooperation from select Asian countries. Japan, China and Singapore have shown keen interest in this project and the state Government has already acquired land for the university.

Next week Tourism Minister Nand Kishore Yadav and secretary Anjani Kumar Singh will leave for Japan to participate in a two day Indian Tourism Conference where they will market the Buddhist heritage of the state. “We have prepared a half-an-hour video presentation in Japanese, focusing on the Buddhist sites of Bihar”, said Singh.

The state Government feels that such goodwill visits also attract international investments in the tourism sector. Already the state has drawn up an ambitious plan to develop its Buddhist circuit spots to international standards by building roads, hotels, airports and golf courses.