Why will millions of Buddhist tourists flock to India ?

RK Sinha
During the past few years, India has witnessed the commencement of operations of several new airports and this trend seems bound to an upward trajectory in the foreseeable future. The Prime Minister has resolved to lay a network of more than 200 airports across the nation. But, the international airport started at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh is of special significance in itself. Its commissioning will aid the followers of Buddhists living in diverse countries of the world who believe in Buddhism to effortlessly visit their Parinirvana Sthal (where Lord Budhha breathed his last breath) and attained nirvana after his death.
When the Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi was inaugurating the new airport, there were diplomats from countries like South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, including the Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa's son, and his Cabinet Minister Namal. Their presence is a testimony to the paramount momentaneous of the Kushinagar airport to the countries which practice Buddhism.
Unless one has visited countries like Thailand or Sri Lanka and seen the truth for themselves, it is extremely hard to imagine the massive magnitude of thousands of Buddhist tourists that visit Buddhist temples around the clock every day. As tourists, their general reactions to seeing the idols of Lord Buddha are of that awe and amazement. This is the state of affairs when these nations have no direct relation with Buddhism. Sri Lanka went so far as to accept that Buddhism was a blessed gift to it from India.
As of now, Buddhist circuits are being developed around Kushinagar, Shravasti, and Kapilvastu. In addition to these, similar projects have been commissioned in several parts of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh. It is no big surprise that tourism was one of the first and worst affected sectors by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now as the situation improves and we slowly return to our expected versions of normal, it can be rightly assumed that the inflow of foreign tourists to places associated with the Buddhist circuit of India will increase rapidly.
Undoubtedly, India is home to a rich ancient Buddhist heritage with many important holy sites related to the life of Lord Buddha.
(To be contd)