SACRED SPACE: The temple complex is surrounded by monasteries, markets and hotels

HIDDEN HISTORY The first Mahabodhi Temple, according to the UNESCO statement, was built in the 3rd century B.C. by Emperor Ashoka, but the present one dates from the 5th or 6th century, though some balustrades are from the Mauryan period. It is considered to be one of India's oldest temples. According to historical accounts, Ashoka started the construction work by making the Vajrasana-or the diamond throne-the seat of enlightenment. Thereafter, he built a stupa, which existed until the 12th century. It was during this period that Buddhism was divided into two sects: Hinayana and Mahayana. This was also the time image-worship gained ground in Buddhism. When Buddhism declined later, the temple, better known as the Bodhgaya Mahavira, was damaged due to neglect and the ravages of time. Towards the end of the 19th century, however, this temple was excavated and given a new shape.

Buddhists believe that the cycle of being reborn several times continues until final enlightenment and nirvana occur. On June 27, that great moment seemed to have arrived in the life cycle of Bodhgaya, the place where Prince Siddhartha attained supreme enlightenment some 2,600 years ago to become the Buddha. It came in the form of UNESCO declaring the 1,400-year-old, 180-ft high Mahabodhi Temple a World Heritage Site, thereby placing it among 730 cultural, natural and mixed sites of "outstanding universal value" across the world.

Immediately after the UNESCO decision was announced in Budapest, Hungary, Magadh Division Commissioner H.C. Sirohi and Brijesh Mehrotra, Gaya district magistrate and chairman of the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC), announced a mega plan to preserve the site and develop its surroundings. The Union Ministryof Tourism and Culture also decided to send a team of architects from Delhi to study the site and finalise the plan. "Everything will have a human face," says Sirohi. "This is going to be the most beautiful and tourist-friendly holy place. Not a single individual will suffer."

Yet a pall of gloom and confusion has enveloped the entire Buddhist world. The reason: almost all the structures dotting the area, including a series of beautiful monasteries representing various Asian countries, would either be erased or relocated to create a 1-km radius buffer zone around the temple.

Failure to do so would lead to UNESCO withdrawing the coveted status. But neither the local people nor those who manage the monasteries are ready to accept this condition. "If the place is taken off the list of World Heritage sites, let it be. The Mahabodhi Temple will not lose its importance without such a tag," says Pradeep Kumar Deen, a former activist of Jayaprakash Narayan's Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Vahini. "We want development but Bodhgaya shouldn't become a Vatican City where there is only religion and no economic activity."

FRESH ATTENTION: Renovation work in progress at the Mahabodhi Temple

Admitting that there was panic everywhere, Mangal Subba, the monk in charge of the Japanese Diajok Yo Temple and a BTMC member, demands that officials must explain what the UNESCO guidelines were and how they plan to go about it. "We learnt about the UNESCO decision and the plans only through the media," he says. Social researcher Prabhat Kumar Shandilya says the district administration won't be able to clear the area even if it decides to.

He could be right. The temple compound is surrounded by 30 magnificent monastery complexes in various Buddhist architectural styles, apart from a number of hotels and markets, all within a 1-km radius. The foreign monasteries to be affected by the Mahabodhi Temple's rebirth are themselves major attractions for tourists and Buddhists from the world over. Can these be demolished or rebuilt somewhere else? Impossible, says Subba. Besides, these monasteries receive huge donations from devotees and are involved in social work like free healthcare, education and vocational training in nearby villages.

Also overlooking the temple is a 80-ft-high statue of Lord Buddha. In addition, the surroundings of the temple have the offices of the Mahabodhi Society and the BTMC, the Bodhgaya Museum, the Birla Dharamshala, hotels of the Bihar Tourism Department, a chain of other hotels and rest houses, Samanvay Ashram, a primary health centre, the area's block development office, Buddhagram housing colony built by the assassinated Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa, crowded markets and nearly 15 villages.

Fearing an angry reaction from the people affected in and around Bodhgaya, the authorities have decided to play it cool. Says Mehrotra: "We know we can't take away the people's right to live there. A buffer zone does not mean that people can't live there." On the other hand, Sirohi says no hotel or monastery would be shifted. "What we mean is that no new structure, except religious ones, will be allowed to be constructed," he adds hurriedly.

Meanwhile, ongoing archaeological excavations on the western side of the temple are likely to yield ancient monasteries on the pattern of Nalanda and Vikramshila. Experts believe that an ancient double-storeyed muth (Hindu monastery) too exists under the BTMC office. The Archaeological Survey of India was to take over the entire area to carry out excavations but no work would be possible till the entire stretch is cleared of structures, asserts Shandilya.

There is also a plan to set up a $195 million (Rs 955 crore) spiritual park, under the Maitreya Project. This would have a huge statue of Lord Maitreya, the future Buddha, as a living message of hope. To be executed by the California-based Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition, the icon is intended to be on a scale equal to the Statue of Liberty in New York.

For the Bihar Government, retaining the Mahabodhi Temple on the World Heritage list will be full of challenges. It will also be required to construct a new settlement, Gautamnagar, on 1,100 acres of government land and urge people to shift there.

While the state authorities are busy chalking out a strategy to allay the fears of the people, the ASI is engaged in giving a face-lift to the main temple. The renovation work launched in February this year will cost Rs 65 lakh. Says BTMC Secretary Kalicharan Singh Yadav: "The aim of such an exercise is to make the surroundings beautiful and preserve the glory of the past." It is a different matter that for many the beauty might become unbearable and drive them to despair. Or penury.