Widely seen as India’s Hindutva poster boy since 2002, Prime Minister Narendra Modi now seems to be playing Buddhist tunes to woo the East after Kyoto, where he visited two Buddhist shrines last month. He will welcome the visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping this week with another Buddhist tune.
In August, Modi had included the old Japanese capital, Kyoto, as part of his official tour to visit the two ancient shrines of Toji and Kinkakuji, before he went to Tokyo.
Jinping, who is visiting Ahmedabad only for six hours on September 17—also Modi’s birthday—may have included Gujarat in a somewhat similar fashion as part of his itinerary. Modi’s hometown of Vadnagar (Mehsana district) was among the places visited by the world-famous Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (Hieun tsang) in the mid-seventh century AD.
The Prime Minister has, in the past, been talking about promoting Buddhist circuits in India for global tourists and Buddhist pilgrims.
On Monday, Modi set the Buddhist tone for his date with Jinping when he made a series of tweets on his official Twitter handle @narendramodi, praising Buddhism and showcasing the “strong cultural bond” between India and China through Buddhist heritage.
The PM, expressed his eagerness to “welcome the President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad”, and tweeted, “I am sure his visit will strengthen India-China ties.”
Referring to Xuanzang, who documented the presence of Buddhist monasteries and monks in Gujarat, Modi recalled the presence of 200 monasteries housing 10,000 monks.
These places included Vadnagar. “The place where I was born, Vadnagar, too has a rich Buddhist influence, including a monastery.”
Among other references, Modi also mentioned an Ashokan Edict in Junagadh in Saurashtra. “It shows Samrat Ashok’s reverence towards Buddhism & focuses on social & moral precepts,” Modi tweeted.
Seen as an attempt to attract the Chinese President and delegates accompanying him, the Prime Minister also placed a slideshow on the state’s rich Buddhist heritage on his personal blog, narendramodi.in, giving details about the presence of Buddhist heritage across Gujarat with its historical reference.