Right Word | The Relic Route: How India Is Using Buddhism As A Bridge Across Asia |
Right Word | The Relic Route: How India Is Using Buddhism As A Bridge Across Asia
India has long understood, at least in theory, that its Buddhist heritage gives it a unique standing in Asia
Between February and May 2026, a remarkable diplomatic and cultural phenomenon unfolded across Asia. In Thailand, where sacred Buddha relics sent by India were displayed for nearly a month, more than four million devotees visited the exhibition.
In Vietnam, public sentiment was so strong that the duration of the exhibition had to be extended. By the time the tour ended, nearly 17.5 million people across nine Vietnamese cities had paid their respects. In Mongolia, thousands waited for hours in the cold outside the Gandan Monastery. In Russia’s Kalmyk Republic, more than 150,000 people visited in a single week, exceeding half the region’s entire population.
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These numbers don’t reflect merely a routine cultural exchange programme. They indicate the evolution of a strong geocultural movement. And behind this significant development is an understated strategy that India is only beginning to deploy at full strength.
The strategy rests on a simple but powerful idea: that India’s Buddhist heritage is not merely a matter of domestic pride but a foreign policy asset of the first order,........