Opinion Did Hindu rulers destroy Buddhist sites? The question is about politics, not history
Swami Prasad Maurya’s statement, meant to target the BJP, is unlikely to have much resonance on the ground in Uttar Pradesh
SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya's claim is centred on an argument made by many Buddhist Ambedkarites viz. that many Hindu temples, and mosques have been built on grounds that once housed Buddhist sites of worship, and that these structures too were demolished — often by Hindu rulers. (Express file photo) 
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History can serve as a balm to heal old wounds or it can be used as a blade to open up scars in communities and nations. In India, for three decades, the national imagination was occupied with the Ram Janmabhoomi temple-Babri Masjid debate. No sooner was it resolved and people were beginning to emerge from its consequences, the Gyanvapi issue came to the fore. At Gyanvapi, too, there are claims and counter-claims before the judiciary over whether the site is “originally” a temple or a mosque.
Apart from these claims, there is another aspect to such disputes, which was recently put forward by Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya. Maurya was first with the BSP, moved to the BJP before finally joining the SP. His claim is centred on an argument made by many Buddhist Ambedkarites viz. that many Hindu temples, and mosques have been built on grounds that once housed Buddhist sites of worship, and that these structures too were demolished — often by Hindu rulers. Citing this, Maurya accused the BJP of raising the Gyanvapi issue to polarise Hindus ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Maurya’s statements can be understood as trying to give a message to the minority community that his party is trying to counter Hindutva politics. By doing so, he may hope to capture the minority vote. He also seems to be working to gain the support of neo-Buddhists and Ambedkarite opinion-makers, in whose good books he has not been since he left the BSP for the BJP.
However, Maurya’s statement is at odds with ideas hitherto expressed by the SP. By taking such a radical position, he might be trying to carve out a unique space for himself within the party. This statement, then, may just be a way for him to gain some bargaining space within the SP.
My reason for believing so is that the idea of Buddhist sites being destroyed has been deployed many times in the past in Uttar Pradesh politics. Years ago, some BSP leaders too tried to rake up the issue. When it did not yield any political dividends, they sidelined it. This is likely because among both SCs and OBCs, most people believe in and practise Hinduism. Travelling across Dalit bastis in UP, it is clear that the dominant “panthic” way — people who follow the Kabir Panth or Ravidas Panth, among others — see these traditions as associated with their “Hinduness”.
Another question that emerges is whether the BJP will be discomfited by Maurya’s attack. In my view, since the BJP sets or controls most political grand narratives in UP and beyond — such as Ram temple construction, welfare schemes, “suraksha” against criminals and lawbreakers — it faces little challenge from micro-narratives like the one put forth by Maurya. The party likely realises that such ideas will have little electoral impact. There are few neo-Buddhists in UP. And it is often the case that even those who believe in the Buddha worship Hindu deities such as Shiva and Ganesha alongside.
As a BJP supporter in Lucknow said, Swami Prasad Maurya’s statement seems like a political gimmick. Paraphrasing the eminent Hindi poet Dhoomil, he argued that the leader is neither the “maker of bread, nor one who eats it”. He just plays with bread.
However, the lack of electoral impact notwithstanding, the issue may have resonance with a small but important section of people. Without proper excavation and research, these ideas about history may even gain traction outside India, in other parts of the Buddhist world.
The writer is professor, Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad
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