Nepal stresses Gautam Buddha was born there, an apparent counter to FM S Jaishankar
Reacting on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's previously made statement, the Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) issued a press release stressing that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, which is in Nepal, and that he spread Buddhism from Nepal to other countries.
The release read, "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."
The statement by Nepal MoFA comes a day after, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar's statement in a virtual event 'India@75 Summit'. When asked to name the greatest Indians ever that he could remember. Jaishanker said, "I would say one is Gautam Buddha and the other is Mahatma Gandhi."
The Foreign Ministry of Nepal also recalled that during PM Modi's Nepal visit in 2014, he had said that Nepal was the country where Buddha was born.
"It is true that Buddhism spread from Nepal to other parts of the world in the subsequent period. The matter remains beyond doubt and controversy and thus cannot be a subject of debate. The entire international community is aware of this," said Nepal MoFA.
In response to that, MEA on Sunday ratified and issued a statement, "External Affairs Minister’s remarks yesterday at the CII event referred to our shared Buddhist heritage. There is no doubt that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, which is in Nepal."
