From Ladakh, Amit Shah highlights Buddha’s timeless path to peace

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday termed the return of Lord Buddha’s sacred relics to Ladakh after 75 years a “historic reunion”, asserting that the teachings of peace and compassion remain as relevant today as they were over 2,500 years ago. Addressing the Buddha Purnima celebrations in Leh, he described Ladakh as a “living land of dharma” that has preserved Buddhist wisdom for centuries.

Speaking at the inauguration of the sacred relics exposition at Jivetsal, Shah said the region has long served as a custodian of spiritual knowledge, nurturing and protecting the teachings of the Buddha through times of both crisis and peace.

Shah said that Ladakh has remained a “living land of dharma”, preserving and nurturing Buddhist knowledge for centuries.

“Ladakh has been a living land of dharma for centuries. When the Dalai Lama comes here, he says this land is not merely a geographical land but a living laboratory of Buddhist culture and compassion,” Shah said.

“India always showed the world path to peace and enlightenment. Modi ji revived this role for the betterment of humankind”, he said.  

Calling Ladakh a land of compassion, he said this land has preserved and nurtured knowledge. “Whenever Buddhism faced crises, this land worked to protect the teachings of Buddha. And when peace returned, it helped to expand and carry forward that preserved wisdom,” he added.

“The message that emerged from the land of Ladakh has become a guiding force for many people around the world to take their lives forward. The presence of these sacred relics in Ladakh reminds us that India’s civilisation has, for thousands of years, given the message of peace and coexistence,” he said.

He said that in a diverse region like Ladakh and Kargil, this message becomes even more relevant. “This heritage still tells us today that amidst conflict and unrest, only the path of peace and compassion can provide solutions.” He said the return of the relics on Buddha Purnima had enhanced the significance of the festival for the people of Ladakh.

He said Emperor Ashoka’s envoys laid the foundation of Buddhist influence in Ladakh through Kashmir and Gandhara, while Mahayana Buddhism expanded in the region during the Kushan period between the first and third centuries CE.

The Silk Route linking Kashmir, Leh, Yarkand, Khotan and Tibet became a channel not only for trade but also for ideas, monks, manuscripts and artistic traditions, Shah said.

“Amid conflict and unrest, only the path of peace and compassion can provide solutions,” he said.

The region has remained at the centre of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s development agenda, he said.

Shah said Ladakh had long demanded Union territory status due to lack of development and asserted that the decision had brought visible change across sectors.

His remarks came amid renewed calls by the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) for resumption of talks with the Centre on statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule.

“Ladakh had an old demand to be made a Union territory. The basic reason for this demand was that development was not taking place here. Now I want to tell you what has been done after it was made a Union Territory in 2019,” Shah said.