India dismisses controversy over Buddha’s birthplace

India categorically said on Sunday that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini in Nepal thereby defusing a controversy about Buddhas birth place after Nepal had responded to remarks attributed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Jaishankar had on Saturday talked about about India’s moral leadership and how Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings are still relevant. However, reports suggest that the Nepalese media attributed remarks to him as saying that Buddha was an Indian.

India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on Sunday said the minister’s remarks on Saturday at an event “referred to our shared Buddhist heritage”.

“There is no doubt that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, which is in Nepal,” Srivastava said.

Earlier in the day, the Nepalese Foreign Ministry issued a statement in response to Jaishankar’s remark quoted in the Nepalese media.

“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,” said the Nepal Foreign Affairs Ministry.

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