Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha departed for Russia on Friday, leading an Indian delegation tasked with bringing back the sacred relics of Lord Buddha that are currently on display at an international exhibition in the Russian Republic of Kalmykia.
The week-long exposition, which concludes on October 18, is being held in Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, Europe’s only Buddhist-majority region.
The Kalmyks, descendants of the Oirat Mongols who migrated from western Mongolia in the early 17th century, follow Mahayana Buddhism.
The sacred relics have been showcased at the Geden Sheddup Choikorling Monastery, also known as the Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha, a major Tibetan Buddhist centre inaugurated in 1996.
Sinha expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for facilitating this sacred mission.
In a post on X he said, “Leaving for Kalmykia, Russia, where I will lead the delegation to bring back holy relics of Lord Buddha after a week-long exposition. I sincerely thank the Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji for this sacred opportunity.”
The exhibition was jointly organised by the Ministry of Culture, the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), the National Museum, and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
The relics are part of the Piprahwa collection, housed at the National Museum in New Delhi. Piprahwa, located near Birdpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district, is identified with the ancient city of Kapilavastu, the capital of the Shakya clan to which Lord Buddha belonged.
The relics were transported to Russia with full religious sanctity aboard a special Indian Air Force aircraft, accompanied by a delegation of senior Buddhist monks, officials, and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.
The week-long cultural programme also included a special exhibition tracing the historical journey of the Buddha’s relics.
The Elista exposition follows a series of recent international displays of Buddha’s relics. In 2022, the Piprahwa relics were taken to Mongolia; in 2024, relics from Sanchi were exhibited in Thailand; and earlier this year, relics from Sarnath were displayed in Vietnam.
In July, Prime Minister Modi had welcomed the repatriation of the sacred Jewel Relics associated with the Piprahwa stupa, calling it a proud moment for India and a reaffirmation of the nation’s deep-rooted connection with Lord Buddha and his teachings.
The relics, believed to include bone fragments of the Buddha, were scheduled to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong on May 7, 2025. However, a timely and coordinated intervention by the Government of India led to their successful retrieval.
