(Lumbini.info)
Nepal's PM Baburam Bhattarai announced that 2012 is to be the year to visit Lumbini, birthplace of the Buddha in modern Nepal [although he was likely born elsewhere].But instead of rejoicing, Buddhists in Nepal are angry. And the prime reason for their displeasure is Bhattarai's party chief, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda," who has been made head of a national committee formed by the government to develop Lumbini.
Prachanda is also the vice-chairman of APEC (Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation). APEC is a Hong Kong based non-governmental organization that ran into controversy over its US $3 billion Lumbini Development Plan.
Buddhists comprise around 11% of Nepal's population, according to the last official census in 2001 [a highly doubtful accounting for the world's only Hindu nation, a distinction India does not enjoy but which Nepal is branded with]. They are unhappy with Prachanda's association with Lumbini because he is a Hindu and has a violent past.
"Prachanda is responsible for deaths of thousands during the civil war and is not a Buddhist. He should have no role in Lumbini's development," said Amar Deep Moktan, a Buddhist.
Prachanda who has been made head of a national committee formed by the government to develop Lumbini.
Moktan is spokesperson of a new group called Coordination of Preservation of Buddhists' Concerns, which enjoys support of nearly 100 Buddhist social, religious, youth, and women groups in Nepal. More
Moktan is spokesperson of a new group called Coordination of Preservation of Buddhists' Concerns, which enjoys support of nearly 100 Buddhist social, religious, youth, and women groups in Nepal. More
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