Browsing by Author "Singh, Bijay Beer"

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Ancient and modern Indian soft power politics as message of peace in heritage generation and management
(Centre for Heritage Studies, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2019) Singh, Bijay Beer; Sen, Chander; Ven. Sumedh Thero
Historical evidences emphasized Indian culture is full of soft power on the path of Dhamma i.e. extensively used by Ashokan era (273–236 BC) and his followers. Ashoka's Dhamma was not simply a collection of high-sounding phrases. He consciously tried to adopt it as a matter of state policy; he declared that "all men and my children" and "whatever exertion I make, I strive only to discharge debt that I owe to all living creatures." It was totally new and inspiring ideal of kingship. In the Arthashastra, the king owed nothing to anyone. Ashoka expounded his policy of Dhamma through his edicts. By engraving his views about Dhamma on these edicts, Ashoka tried to directly communicate with his subjects. These inscriptions were written in different years of his life. The inscriptions can be divided into two categories. A small group of inscriptions reveal that the king was a follower of Buddhism and were addresses to the Buddhist church—the samgha. These inscriptions are declarations of Ashoka's relationship with the Buddhist order. In the inscriptions (edicts) of Ashoka Raja found throughout the area of ancient India it has been stated that Buddhism also spread westward to areas of Macedonia and Greece. The inscriptions of Ashoka Raja were made in stone, on metal and on the pillars. Thus use of medical facilities, education and language learning, food festivals, cinema and other art forms, diasporas, support for electoral procedures – and religion, a key component of soft power. India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who is credited with having laid the foundations of India’s foreign policy, was acutely conscious of this, especially in relation to Asia. Yoga, Ayurveda, the Indian Diaspora and religion have come to acquire an important place in this regard. Likewise, the Modi government has used Hinduism and Buddhism effectively to promote the national interest in the Indo-Pacific region.
Dynamics in migration of Ashokan edicts in and around Delhi vis. soft power use by Muslim rulers in heritage politics
(Centre for Heritage Studies, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2019) Singh, Bijay Beer; Sen, Chander; Ven. Sumedh Thero
Delhi being Heritage city meagerly emphasized about Buddhist studies and Buddhism. Keeping our ongoing interest in 20th century opens such doors and force us to study such Ancient sites. The first in-situ rock edict was discovered in Delhi in 1966, and establishes the city's ancient historical link with the Ashokan era (273–236 BC). Delhi's stone pillar edicts were transported from their original sites in Meerut and Ambala during the reign of Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309–1388 AD). They were erected in Feruzabad, the fourth medieval city of Delhi, established by Feroz Shah Tughlaq. These Ashokan edicts in Delhi and around are a series of edicts on the teachings of Buddha created by Ashoka, the Mauryan Emperor who ruled in the Indian subcontinent during the 3rd century BC. The Edicts of Ashoka were either carved on in-situ rocks or engraved on pillars erected throughout the empire; examples of both are found in Delhi. The in-situ Bahapur rock edict was discovered in Delhi in an engraved form on a small patch of rock exposure in Srinivaspuri, one kilometer north of Kalkaji temple, close to Bahapur village in South Delhi. The edict categorized as a "Minor edict" written in Brahmi script was a first person message of Ashoka, which exhorts people to follow the Buddhist way of life. It is inscribed on a rock surface with irregular lines and letter size with a number of lines not clearly decipherable. The two pillar edicts are still in Delhi. The one on the Delhi ridge opposite the entrance of Bara Hindu Rao Hospital, close to the Delhi University campus, is popularly known as the Delhi-Meerut Pillar. The other, in the grounds of Feroz Shah Kotla, is known as the Delhi-Topra Pillar. Thus Ashoka's Dhamma cover topics such as kindness, forbearance, and concern for the welfare of his people that may be consider as soft power in the spread of Buddha Sasana. Thus, to spread the message in the north-western of the empire, edicts were written in Kharoshti script. Bilingual and bi-scriptural edicts have also been discovered in Kandahar and Afghanistan, written in Greek and Aramaic. Ashokan edicts written on rocks or pillars are considered unique and permanent as compared to the palm leaf or bark writings (perishable materials) of the past during the Harappan civilization, or even early Mauryan Empire edicts.