For a civilisation that holds Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar within its sacred geography, India still treats much of its Buddhist inheritance as a set of isolated stops rather than a single national mission

On Buddha Purnima, India will once again invoke the Buddha as a teacher of compassion and peace. While that is fitting, it may not be sufficient. For a civilisation that holds Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar within its sacred geography, India still treats much of its Buddhist inheritance as a set of isolated stops rather than a single national mission. The Buddha was born in Lumbini, in present-day Nepal, but the defining arc of Buddhism, enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, the first sermon at Sarnath, mahaparinirvana at Kushinagar and the flowering of monastic learning at Nalanda, belongs decisively to the Indian landscape.…