Pradeep Ramteke
Editor-in-Chief
New Delhi
A nationwide protest will be held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on February 12, 2026, for the liberation of the Mahabodhi Mahavihara. Thousands of Buddhist followers from across the country will participate in this movement, and the demand to hand over the management of the Mahabodhi Mahavihara completely to the Buddhist community will be firmly raised.
Speaking in this regard, MLA and former minister Rajkumar Badole said that the entire world acknowledges that Lord Buddha attained enlightenment at Mahabodhi.
However, it is extremely unfortunate that Buddha has no place in that holy site today. It is essential that the management of the Mahabodhi Mahavihara be under the control of the Buddhist community, and I fully support this movement.
MLA Rajkumar Badole further informed that he recently met with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, and Minister Ramdas Athawale has also raised this issue with the government through meetings at various levels.
Meanwhile, Sangharatna Bhante said that they had organized an awareness march from Deekshabhoomi to Chaityabhoomi in Maharashtra. Our objective was and is to create awareness among Buddhist followers.
We conveyed to the people how the Bihar Temple Management Act of 1949 is unjust.
He further said that it is a serious matter that the government does not accept that the Buddha Vihara at Mahabodhi should be under the control of Buddhists. Why is there control of other religions over the Buddhist Vihara? This is our fundamental question.
Earlier, when Bhante Vinayacharya launched a nationwide movement, he was imprisoned for a full 68 days.
He also clarified that a large number of Buddhist followers from Maharashtra will participate in this historic movement to be held at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi on February 12. However, the Indian government and the Bihar state government are not ready to hand over the Mahabodhi Mahavihara, the birthplace of Tathagata Lord Gautama Buddha, to Buddhist monks and followers of Buddhism.
This raises the question: are the Indian government and the Bihar state government afraid of the righteous philosophy of Tathagata Lord Gautama Buddha?
It is a reality that in India, the philosophies of Tathagata Lord Gautama Buddha, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, Sant Tukaram Maharaj, Sant Jagannade Maharaj, Sant Gadge Baba, Sant Ravidas, Sant Ghasidas, Sant Namdev Maharaj, Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule, and other saints and great personalities born in the Bahujan community, are strongly opposed by the Manuvadi, upper-caste Hindu organizations in India, the Indian government, and the state governments within India, as part of their hidden agenda.
Therefore, the Indian government is not ready to hand over the Mahabodhi Mahavihara, the birthplace of Tathagata Lord Gautama Buddha, to the Buddhist community and Buddhist monks; this is a historical fact.
It appears that the sole objective of the Manuvadi and Brahminical Indian government and the Bihar state government is to surreptitiously misappropriate the billions of rupees in funds received from many countries in the name of the Mahabodhi Mahavihara.
