IBC LAUNCHES        BOOK ON                  BANGLADESH                BUDDHIST HERITAGE

New Delhi.

Sri Abhijit Halder, Director General of the International Buddhist Confederation, speaking about the colossal Buddhist heritage of India underscored the need to promote, preserve and project the same before the world.

While launching author Sunita Dwivedi’s historiographical travelogue titled ‘On The Buddha’s Trail In Bangladesh’ Monday evening at the India International Centre, Sri Halder in his key note address lauded prime minister Sri Narendra Modi’s efforts in promoting the exposition of Buddha’s relics in countries abroad. As a part of this effort, ‘’Exposition of Buddha’s Relics have been organised by the IBC in Mongolia, Thailand Vietnam, Bhutan, Kalmykia and Sri Lanka, he informed. In this connection the Second Global Buddhist Summit held in January, 2026 in Delhi and the Asian Buddhist Summit hosted by the IBC and the Ministry of Culture celebrated India’s role in strengthening Asia.

With the publication of the book on Bangladesh and four earlier ones in a series on the ‘Buddhist Heritage of the Asian Silk Road’ that includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia and China, Sunita Dwivedi has covered a considerable part of the colossal Buddhist circuit of Asia. Bangladesh being the southern link in the chain.

Eminent scholars, Prof. K. Warikoo, editor Himalayan and Central Asian Studies, Ambassador Veena Sikri, former High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Prof. Shashibala, Dean, Indology, Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan joined Sri Halder in launching the book published by Rupa Publiscations.

In the great chain of Buddhist Asia, Bangladesh forms a crucial link, having a unique role in the spread of Buddhism. The mahaviharas of Jagaddala, Somapura, Halud, Bhasu, Sitakot, Mainamati, Bikrampur, Sitakundo, Pandita gave birth to great scholars under the patronage of Bengal rulers. Their close proximity with sites in West Bengal at Jagjeevanpur, Raktamrittika, Mogolmari shows the dense network of monastic settlements along river routes. Xuanzang in the 7th century mentions about 70 monasteries with 8000 monks at Pundravardhana, Tamluk, Samatata Karna Suvarna. Latika Lahiri gives names of Chinese monks who studied Sanskrit and Grammar at monasteries of Bengal.

The importance of the region lay in the fact that it provided the only maritime opening for entire North India and the Himalayan kingdoms. The region also lay at the doorstep or was the gateway to the Suvarnabhumi- the golden land of southeast Asia. Due to its strategic position, it commanded trade with Suvarnabhumi from the beginning of the Common Era or even earlier, by both land and sea.

Due to royal patronage and high scholarship Buddhism survived and flourished the longest in Bengal. Famous scholars from Bengal were among those who largely shaped the form of monastic order in Tibet, China and Mongolia. Fortunately the Tibetan chronicles have preserved a detailed account of a large number of scholars from the Pala kingdom who visited the Land of Snow.

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