India dismisses controversy over Jaishankar's remarks on Gautam Buddha

India categorically said on Sunday that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini in Nepal thereby defusing a controversy about Buddha's birthplace after Nepal had responded to remarks attributed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. This controversy comes weeks after Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli had stirred a controversy by claiming that Lord Ram was born in Nepal and was a Nepali.

New Delhi: India on Sunday dismissed the controversy over the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, saying External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's remarks on him was about “our shared Buddhist heritage" and there's "no doubt" that the founder of Buddhism was born in Nepal's Lumbini.

During a webinar on Saturday, Jaishankar mentioned about India's moral leadership and how Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi's teachings are still relevant. However, reports suggest that the Nepalese media attributed remarks to him as saying that Buddha was an Indian.

In a couple of hours, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava issued a statement to put a lid on the controversy.

"There is no doubt that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, which is in Nepal," Srivastava said, while referring to Jaishankar's remarks at an event referred to "our shared Buddhist heritage" in New Delhi on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Nepalese Foreign Ministry raised objection over Jaishankar’s remark quoted in the Nepalese media, saying “it is a well-established and undeniable fact proven by historical evidence that Buddha was born in Lumbini, Nepal."

The official spokesperson of the Nepal Foreign Ministry said that Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha and the fountain of Buddhism, is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites.

"It is a well-established and undeniable fact proven by historical and archaeological evidence that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, Nepal. Lumbini, the Birthplace of Buddha and the fountain of Buddhism, is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites," said the Nepal Foreign Affairs Ministry.

During his visit to Nepal in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, addressing Nepal’s Parliament said, “Nepal is the country where the apostle of peace in the world, Buddha, was born," recalled the Nepalese Foreign Ministry.

"Buddhism spread from Nepal to other parts of the world in the subsequent period and the matter remains beyond doubt and controversy."

Former prime minister and senior leader of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal Madhav Kumar Nepal said the alleged statement made by Jaishankar that Buddha was a great Indian is “baseless and objectionable". Similarly, Nepali Congress spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma also said, "Lord Buddha was born in Nepal."

This controversy comes weeks after Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli had stirred a controversy by claiming that Lord Ram was born in Nepal and was a Nepali.

With inputs from agencies