National 9 (Spotlight Weekly)

Lumbini Will Lay Golden Eggs For Nepal

By DIPAK BAHADUR GURUNG

Being a landlocked country with difficult terrain, it is not that easy for Nepal to march forward on the path of industrialization. In order to fill the government coffers and lead the country from poverty toward prosperity, the country should concentrate in two areas: foreign employment and tourism. These areas are comparatively less challenging as well. Although Nepal's geography is not favorable for industrialization, the country is God-gifted with certain features. They are Mount Everest and the Himalaya ranges, Pashupatinath, one of the holiest places for Hindus, and Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

Unfortunately, we have so far failed to identify and exploit these three areas. And if we still fail to do so, the country's economy will have to depend on foreigners for a long time to come. We, so far have managed to utilize Mount Everest and the Himalaya ranges to some extent and the temple of Pashupatinath. But we have failed to attract and bring the Hindu billionaires based in places like London, New York, Singapore and Hong Kong to Nepal. People who understand the value of Lumbini are surprised as to why the government has not yet opened its eyes. The law-and-order situation and political turmoil in the country may discourage trekkers to come to Nepal, however, apart from the Himalaya ranges, there is no obstacle from security reasons in utilizing the other two areas. What has stopped us from developing Lumbini?

Several years ago, when the then secretary-general of the United Nations, Mr. U Thant, paid a visit to Lumbini for the first time, he was so upset that he was in tears when he saw the completely ignored state of the birthplace of Lord Buddha. At the time, the Buddhist community failed to cash in on his feelings by not mobilizing the community worldwide.

The development of Lumbini is not only for religious purposes. Our main concern is bringing more and more religious tourists to Nepal in order to boost our economy. Lumbini is the center of faith to 2 billion people of the world. Despite this fact, we have so far failed to cash in on this boon. Had this place been in any other country, it would have developed it to such an extent that the place would be the backbone of the national economy. We can see, for instance, the extreme development of Piparhawa (India) where Buddha was even not born. It is Lumbini (Nepal) where Buddha was actually born.

We all know that, having been born on this earth, it is every single Muslim's wish to visit Mecca, the birthplace of Prophet Mohammad. It is their motto of life "visit Mecca and die." Why are we billions of Buddhists not able to turn Lumbini into such a place?

Professor Tange's Master Plan is moving at a snail's pace. Lately we have seen some notable developments in the monastery area and the completion of Maya Devi's Temple there. Yet there are vast potentialities for development in several sectors of Lumbini. Shortage of funds is always blamed for the slow development of the place, but the importance of Lumbini must outweigh this excuse.

In the light of Nepal's present financial state, the assistance of the world Buddhist community is essential. For this purpose, an internationally-recognized committee led by Nepal must be formed. To lead this committee, an internationally recognized personality must be found and appointed for the job. Institutions like the Lumbini Development Trust and others have so far failed to impress the public in this regard. Had the trust envisaged such a vision long time ago, the country's face would have changed drastically by now. So the time has come to form a committee for a designated period of time to carry out the task. The committee must be free of political interference. Necessary laws must be passed by the government to form such a committee.

In order to complete the project, some Rs. 20 billion (approximately US $300 million) may be required. The money can be collected from the following Buddhist countries; Rs. 4 billion from China; Rs. 4 billion from Japan; Rs. 3 billion from South Korea; Rs. 3 billion from Taiwan; Rs. 2 billion from Thailand; Rs. 2 billion from Burma; and Rs. 2 billion from Sri Lanka. For this, the diplomatic missions of these countries based in Kathmandu should be requested to take up the project. The committee formed at the UN for the development of Lumbini during the tenure of U Thant should be activated with a view to mobilize financial assistance. Apart from Buddhist countries, other developed countries can also be requested for assistance. As far as the projects are concerned the above countries themselves may volunteer to complete the projects allocated to them. However, in the event of countries not willing to take up the projects, the concerned governments should give the committee permission to collect necessary funds from their citizens. It is most likely that Buddhist individuals and institutions will be prepared to contribute generously for the projects. Rich Buddhists should be approached and encouraged to make wills to leave all or part of their properties and cash in the account of Lumbini after their death. Fund-raising teams can be deployed in various countries with necessary materials of advertisements to be made on TV, radio and in newspapers. Arrangements to display permanently on marble plates, names of people donating exceptionally large sums of money or property should be made in Lumbini.

The fund-raising campaign should be inaugurated by His Majesty the King. National and international reporters should be invited to this august ceremony in order to give the project the widest possible publicity.

Once the necessary fund is collected, construction work should start under the guidance of the same internationally-recognized committee. Nepal alone cannot be entrusted to handle such a huge amount of cash in the light of its reputation on corruption. On completion of Lumbini as envisaged in this paper, if only one percent of the 2 billion world Buddhist community visits Nepal, the country will prosper by leaps and bounds.

The state of law and order is problematic only in the hilly regions of Nepal for trekkers. And lately the security situation has greatly improved after the declaration of cease-fire between the government and the Maoist rebels. For religious tourists to Lumbini, there is no problem at all. Tourists can spend one day in Kathmandu, two days in Lumbini, one day in Pokhara, again one day in Kathmandu and then return to their respective countries. So, for the improvement of tourism the development of Lumbini is most important.

It is advised that some members of the committee should visit Mecca in Saudi Arabia and find out what facilities are required to handle hundreds of thousands of pilgrims so that similar arrangements can be made in Lumbini as well.

At a glance the immediate requirements for the infrastructure appear to be as follows: extension of the present Gautam Buddha International Airport (Bhairhawa); turning the Bhairhawa-Lumbini road into a highway; construction of boundary walls around the Lumbini area; construction of roads, drainages, supply of water, electricity, telephone, hospital, accommodation and feeding arrangements for pilgrims, market areas, bank, travel agencies, Maya Devi's modern underground huge temple, construction of world's tallest statue of Buddha, establishment of a library and Buddhist University, etc.

Any Muslim visiting Mecca is given the title of Haji to use against his name. Similarly, a suitable title acceptable to all should be given to foreign Buddhists visiting Lumbini. The country will certainly prosper when the above projects are completed and Lumbini will prove itself to be a hen which lays golden eggs for Nepal forever.

The birthplace of Lord Buddha is not the property and center of faith to Nepalese only, it is the property and center of faith to the whole world Buddhist community. So, all the Buddhist should come forward united to develop this holy land. Religious tourism will certainly change the face of Nepal.

(Gurung is a National Assembly MP)