KATHMANDU: India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has clarified that the remarks made by its External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s that Lord Buddha was an Indian referred to the shared Buddhist heritage between Nepal and India.
“There is no doubt that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, which is in Nepal,” MEA’s Official Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava today said while responding to a media query on the remarks.
Earlier today, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) issued a statement saying said it was a well-established and undeniable fact proven by historical and archaeological evidences that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini in Nepal.
“It is a well-established and undeniable fact proven by historical and archaeological evidences 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,” the MoFA stated in a press statement.
It may be noted that Indian Foreign Minister Shankar had during a virtual event on Saturday, claimed that Lord Buddha was an Indian.
MoFA recalled that Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi had himself during his visit to Nepal in 2014, had said that “Nepal is the country where apostle of peace in the world, Buddha, was born” while addressing the Legislature Parliament of Nepal.
Jaishankar’s claim had courted controversy in Nepal with several walks of life taking to social media to criticize him for his statement.
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