Uttarakhand: Buddhist mantras at Jollygrant Airport sparks row; Minister assures action after religious guru objects

As inscriptions of Buddhist mantras in Jolly Grant airport drew the ire of Hindu religious gurus, Uttarakhand government says it will replace them with Sanskrit shlokas.

Dehradun: A row has erupted over Buddhist mantras being written on the pillars of Jolly Grant Airport in Uttarakhand with religious guru Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand calling for removing the mantras. Following the controversy, Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj has said that the Buddhist mantras written on the 8 pillars at the entrance of Jolly Grant Airport will be removed.

Instead Sanskrit mantras will be written on the pillars except one, the Minister said following the objections raised by Avimukteshwaranand. Satpal Maharaj also issued immediate directions to the authorities in this regard. He said that Vedic mantras will be written on pillars instead of Buddhist mantras.

Satpal said he went to inspect the Jolly Grant Airport where he talked to the Airport Authority about this issue. The Airport Authority has assured that Buddhist mantras will be removed from all pillars except one pillar and Sanskrit mantras will be written on them, Satpal Maharaj said.

“If Shankaracharya has said this, then his suggestion is commendable. It will definitely be implemented,” he said. Earlier, the religious guru wondered as to how the decision was taken to inscribe Buddhist mantras in Uttarakhand which is “Devbhoomi”. "There are shrines like Badrinath and Kedarnath here," he said.

"Holy rivers like Ganga and Yamuna emerge from here. It is publicised as Chardham. Every year, lakhs of people are invited here, due to which Uttarakhand earns crores of rupees. Despite this, Buddhist mantras are written on the 8 pillars at the entrance of the airport,” Avimukteshwaranand reiterated.

Avimukteshwaranand asked whether the chants Jai Badri Vishal, Jai Kedar, Jai Gange, Jai Jamuna, Jai Uttarakhand, Jai Bhagwan Shankaracharya could not be written on the pillars instead of Buddhist mantras.