Why Buddhists Want Sole Control of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya

New Delhi: "If all temples, mosques, churches and gurudwaras across the country are managed by their respective communities, then why should Buddhist monks not possess complete authority over the Mahabodhi Mahavihara, a world-renowned Buddhist pilgrimage site?" Bhante Vinacharya of the Mahabodhi Mahavihara Liberation Movement told The Wire over the phone.

On February 12, Vinacharya participated in a massive protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi making exactly this demand of the government – repeal the Bodh Gaya Temple Act (BTA), 1949, which allows non-Buddhists to get involved in the temple's affairs through the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC) it sets up.

Followers of Buddha from various states participated in the February demonstration, where they arrived holding pictures of Gautama Buddha and the first law minister, B.R. Ambedkar, who became a Buddhist months before he died. Some protesters held placards saying: "Repeal the BT Act, 1949" or "All members of BTMC should be Buddhists."

The BTA, passed by the Bihar government soon after independence, deals with the management and administration of the renowned Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya. Buddhist monks have been protesting the provision mandating the BTMC for a long time.

In February 2025, a major protest was held in Gaya over this issue.

Photo from a 2025 demonstration.

The 2025 protest and Bhante Vinacharya's arrest

Vinacharya said, "On February 12 last year, Buddhist monks started their protest near the Mahabodhi Temple. Gradually, people from other states joined, raising awareness about the advantages of a Hindu-free BTMC and how this would benefit the Mahabodhi. Subsequently, the movement spread to other parts of the country, with rallies and demonstrations."

He said that the administration attempted to stifle this movement in May last year by using the India-Pakistan conflict as an excuse. Then on May 12, 2025, Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan participated in a Hindu prayer and ritual at the Mahabodhi Temple, provoking outrage. On February 13 the same year, visitors from Maharashtra were assaulted inside the Mahabodhi complex, and slogans of Jai Shri Ram and Jai Hanuman were raised.

Vinacharya said the police detained him around that time, citing threats to his own life and that three false cases were filed against him. He was released from jail only after 68 days, and that is when he and some other Buddhist monks resolved to take the movement to repeal the 1949 law to the public.

Vinacharya and others travelled to several states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh and finally announced the demonstration that was held on February 12 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

"So far, the only outcome of our endeavours is that the chief minister of Bihar has given us an appointment on February 23," he told The Wire. "We will see what the result is and our future strategy will be decided accordingly."

According to Vinacharya, his efforts are garnering support within the country and abroad from those who believe in the Buddha and from countries whose monasteries are located at Mahabodhi. Many countries with a Buddhist population, such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, Japan, Myanmar, Bhutan, etc., have built monasteries around the Mahabodhi Complex in Bodh Gaya. These monasteries serve pilgrims from those countries.

'Misuse' of donations at Mahabodhi Temple

The Mahabodhi Temple is the most revered Buddhist site for adherents of the faith, attracting thousands of international visitors and pilgrims each year. Pintu Manjhi, Secretary of the Dashrath Manjhi Educational Institute in Gaya, explained that the state government formed a committee, entrusted with the management and control of the temple's land and related properties, in 1953, once the BTMC was formed under the 1949 law. This committee consists of a chairman and eight members nominated by the state government.

All members are required to be Indian citizens. Among these members, four are Buddhists and four are Hindus, including the Mahant – chief priest. If the Mahant is a minor, mentally ill or unwilling to join the committee, another Hindu member is nominated in his place.

The current secretary of the BTMC is Mahasweta Maharathi. The members include Dhammadhiru, T. Okonogi, Kiran Lama, Arvind Kumar Singh and Mithun Manjhi. The post reserved for the Mahant of the Bodh Gaya Math is currently vacant due to internal conflicts. In addition, there is a priest position currently held by Sanjay Mishra.

Further, the District Magistrate of Gaya serves as the ex-officio chairman of the BTMC. Previously, if the District Magistrate was not a Hindu, the state government would nominate a Hindu as chairman for that term. In 2013, the state government amended the BTA, eliminating the requirement that the District Magistrate must be a Hindu.

Bhadant Pragyasheel Mahathero, a former member of the BTMC, its first Buddhist Secretary and Chief Advisor of the All India Buddhist Forum (AIBF) said that the term for committee members is three years and may be extended at the discretion of the administration – the government and District Magistrate. A meeting of the members is convened every three months, with the District Magistrate as the ultimate authority on all matters.

Pragyasheel recounted that he was a member of the committee from 1998 to 2001 and the only thing that troubled him during this period was the management of the Mahabodhi Complex and the substantial donations it receives from domestic and international donors.

"Mahabodhi receives substantial donations and contributions. However, these funds are not used for the maintenance of the complex or the expansion of its facilities," he said. "These donations are neither spent on running hospitals and schools nor on other amenities. They are not utilised to expand the complex or improve facilities for monks. Instead, the majority of the funds are directed towards paying salaries of those employed within the complex and covering expenses associated with hosting VIP visitors to the shrine."

When asked about the audit of donations, Pragyasheel clarified that an audit is conducted annually and the report is submitted to the government. However, only the District Magistrate is privy to its specifics – what is included in the report and what is excluded – as the process is carried out at his discretion.

Pragyasheel elaborated, "It is widely known that Lord Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya. This place is renowned worldwide for this reason. Therefore, the question of the existence of any other deity is irrelevant. If Muslims manage the mosque, Hindus oversee the temple and Sikhs administer the gurudwara, then why is the Mahabodhi complex under the control of Hindus? No religious site in the world is controlled by another religion."

When asked whether there has ever been any dispute within the committee, Bhadant Pragyasheel responded that disputes are quite common. "The District Magistrate convenes a meeting of all members once every three months and such disputes frequently arise," he said.

'Shared heritage of Buddhists and Hindus'

A Hindu member of the BTMC, speaking on condition of anonymity, told this reporter that the main reason for the inclusion of Hindus in the BTMC is the recognition of the site as a shared heritage of Buddhists and Hindus.

He added, "Even after the enactment of the BTA, the temple was not transferred to the Buddhists. However, an agreement was later reached between the monastery and the Buddhists and the temple was handed over to them in 1953. Before this transfer, the Bodhgaya Monastery managed the complex. Therefore, a position in the BTMC is reserved for the mahant of the monastery. Hindus also have faith in this place. Many families perform Pind Daan at the Mahabodhi Temple. There is also a Shivalinga here, which is worshipped. How can one strip anyone of these rights?"

Referring to the protests against the BTA, the same Hindu member of the committee said, "The protests are being carried out solely to create chaos and to further the personal agendas of certain individuals. Hindus and Buddhists have been worshipping together peacefully here for decades. Each group has its own faith, which ought to be respected."

However, Buddhist followers have consistently denied the existence of a Shivalinga at the site. The majority of them assert that the Shivalinga, purportedly situated in front of the Buddha statue in the sanctum sanctorum, was originally intended as a place for lighting lamps – many refer to it as an ancient edifice.

Pragyasheel said, "There is no Shivalinga here. What is claimed to be a Shivalinga was merely a place for lighting lamps in front of the Buddha's statue. Over time, it has gradually altered in shape due to wear and tear, causing it to resemble a Shivalinga, which is natural."

Dr Vilas Kharat, associated with the Sanvidhan Suraksha Sangharsh Samiti – Sanatan Dhamma Prabuddha Bharat Mission – explained that one of the votive (devotional) stupas has been repeatedly rubbed down by Hindus, until it looked like a Shivalinga. He says the site has Buddhist stupas and statues, which are then claimed as Shivalingas or associated with the Pandava brothers of the Mahabharata.

Citing numerous legal cases and data from the Archaeological Department, Kharat asserted that there are no statues of any Hindu deities at the site. "This is simply an attempt by the government and administration to usurp this site," he alleged.

Referring to the Congress Session of 1922 – held in Gaya – he said that Mahatma Gandhi had promised to hand over the site completely to Buddhist followers after independence. "However, when the BTA was passed, the government legitimised the illegal Hindu occupation and included Hindu members in it. Besides the BTMC, another covert committee operates within the Mahabodhi complex, comprising priests and 38 additional members who ring the temple bells, conduct rituals and mislead people outside into believing it is a Shiva temple," he added.

According to Kharat, historically, in the sixth century, the Hindu king Shashanka attempted to destroy the Bodhi Tree by setting it ablaze. Historical records, including those of the Chinese traveller Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang or the Great Tripitaka Master), indicate that there was an attempt to remove the statue of Lord Buddha from the Mahabodhi Temple and replace it with one of Lord Shiva. In contemporary times, former Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar visited the site and openly declared it a Shiva temple.

Subsequently, Governor Khan allegedly worshipped a 'Shivalinga' there. This reflects the politics of the RSS, which seeks to control this historical site through government and administrative means, says Kharat.

Ramji Pal Charwaha, also known as Kamal Usri, a social activist associated with the Bodh Gaya Liberation Movement, explained that Gaya holds significance for Hindus as people from all over the country visit for Pind Daan. "However, it is crucial to understand that the authentic site for Pind Daan is the Vishnupad Temple, located approximately 30 kilometres from Mahabodhi. Yet, since Hindus want to maintain control over Mahabodhi, Pind Daan has been introduced here in recent years. A misconception has been propagated that Buddha was an incarnation of Vishnu. Therefore, people have started worshipping and performing aarti of Buddha as well, which is contrary to his teachings," he said.

Vinacharya also said that the government is actively promoting such practices, for example, the Governor's worship of the Shivalinga at the Mahabodhi Complex last year on Buddha Purnima, a day recognised internationally as exclusively associated with the Buddha.

Nearly all Buddhist adherents cite the writings of Anagarika Dhammapala, Bhante Nagarjuna Arya Surai Sasai and Xuanzang, who never mentioned a Shivalinga at the site.

Opposition to Hindu members on the BTMC

According to Pintu Manjhi, Buddhists have historically opposed the presence of Hindu members. During his visit to India in 1891, Anagarika Dhammapala from Sri Lanka – considered to have played a significant role in the revival of Buddhism in South Asia – first raised the demand for Buddhist rights over the Mahabodhi Temple. At that time, the Bodh Gaya Monastery controlled the temple.

Later, during the Congress session in 1922, a delegation of Buddhist monks raised the issue of Buddhist rights over the Mahabodhi Temple. Several decades later, in 1992, the movement resurfaced with the Dhamma Mukti Yatra from Bombay (now Mumbai) to the Mahabodhi Temple. Although the movement temporarily subsided, it resurfaced last year in various forms.

Usri explained that this movement is linked to the Buddha, a global symbol of peace. Therefore, its pace is slow, as its aim is to educate people about the Buddha's teachings and the Mahabodhi Temple Act through peace and love. Yet, the movement's objective is to end the BTA.

Kamal added that a significant element of this controversy pertains to the Bodh Gaya Monastery. Among the Hindu members of the BTMC, a position is reserved for the Mahant of the monastery. At present, both Buddhist monks and Brahmin priests are present in the temple complex, which is the root of the conflict. Buddhist followers assert that the Act was established prior to the framing of the constitution and should align with Baba Saheb Ambedkar's Constitution, which came into force in 1950 – a year after the BTA, passed in 1949. The Mahabodhi Temple ought to be entrusted to Buddhist monks, he said.

He further explained that in 2002, UNESCO declared the Mahabodhi Temple a World Heritage Site. "However, the guidelines set by UNESCO have not been followed here. There are 63 monasteries from different countries surrounding the Mahabodhi Complex. This underscores the significance of the site. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his foreign visits, often says he hails from the land of the Buddha. Yet Buddhists themselves are struggling for their rights to the temple. The government and Brahmins should entrust the Mahabodhi complex to Buddhist monks, as this place is recognised globally as a Buddhist pilgrimage site rather than a Hindu one," he said.

The Wire has sent questions to the District Magistrate of Gaya and the Home Ministry of Bihar to seek their views on the matter. The story will be updated when a response is received.

Translated by Naushin Rehman from the original story, published in TheWireHindi.

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