11-09-2003, 12:14 AM
Shobori Ganguli/ New Delhi
The Pioneer
Date: 08 November 2003
It was June 2000, four months since the Venerable Kushok Bakula had
returned to India, having served as India's Ambassador to Mongolia
for a decade since January 1990. We were sitting in the lounge of the
Indian embassy in Ulaanbaatar, local staffers at the mission regaling
us with stories of how welcome Indians were to this remote country,
all courtesy the venerable Bakula who had initiated post-Communist
Mongolia into Buddhism and introduced its people to the Land of
Buddha - India.
The beginning of Venerable Bakula's tenure as Ambassador coincided
with the crash of Communism in Mongolia in 1990, the socio-political
atmosphere ripe for a religious revival. And, Ambassador Bakula, the
20th incarnation of Arhat Bakula, found himself at a moment in
Mongolia's evolution that has ensured for him a place in that
country's history forever.
The most revered Buddhist leader of Ladakh returned to India in
February 2000, leaving behind a fascinating story of Indian diplomacy
in the land of Chengiz Khan. Today, the average Mongolian greets an
Indian with a warmth and cordiality unbelievable in a country that
has the rarest of rare contacts with India.
Indeed, India owes its presence and appeal in Mongolia to the 86-year-
old head Lama of Ladakh, who passed way here on Tuesday.
Acknowledging the Lama's unique contribution to Indian diplomacy,
External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha in his condolence message
said, "Venerable Bakula had contributed immensely to strengthening of
our bilateral relations with Mongolia."
The minister acknowledged that the Ambassador had "played a
particularly valuable role in reinforcing our traditional religious
and cultural ties with that country". Under routine circumstances,
words like "traditional, civilisational ties" can be easily dismissed
as diplomatic cliche. In Mongolia's case, the connection is truly
unique.
Helping a fledgling nation come out of its communist death-trap,
Ambassador Bakula established the Pethub Stangey Choinkho-rling
Monastery and the Bakula Monastic school in Ulaanbaatar, opening the
doors for a fascinating religious revival in a politically nascent
Mongolia.
Today, the man enjoys divine status in that country, its people
taking every opportunity to express their gratitude to friends from
India. Widely acknowledged as a close ally of His Holiness, the Dalai
Lama, the former Indian Ambassador was decorated with a rare civilian
award by the Mongolian Government in 2001 - the Polar Star. It is the
third highest state order conferred on civilians and rarely given to
a foreigner.
Indeed, the Venerable Bakula will go down in the history of Indian
diplomacy as a unique individual whose religious calling made him a
one-man institutional link in Indo-Mongolian bilateral relations. As
the Head Lama of Ladakh, the venerable Buddhist leader enjoys no less
an icon status back home in India, the Indian Government having
felicitated him with a Padma Bhushan award.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday visited Kashmir House
to place a wreath on the mortal remains of the Buddhist leader. In
his tribute, Mr Vajpayee described the former Indian Ambassador as
a "great spiritual leader, guide and inspiration" of the Buddhist
world. In the condolence book, the Prime Minister wrote, "It is
difficult to imagine Ladakh without him."
The Pioneer
Date: 08 November 2003
It was June 2000, four months since the Venerable Kushok Bakula had
returned to India, having served as India's Ambassador to Mongolia
for a decade since January 1990. We were sitting in the lounge of the
Indian embassy in Ulaanbaatar, local staffers at the mission regaling
us with stories of how welcome Indians were to this remote country,
all courtesy the venerable Bakula who had initiated post-Communist
Mongolia into Buddhism and introduced its people to the Land of
Buddha - India.
The beginning of Venerable Bakula's tenure as Ambassador coincided
with the crash of Communism in Mongolia in 1990, the socio-political
atmosphere ripe for a religious revival. And, Ambassador Bakula, the
20th incarnation of Arhat Bakula, found himself at a moment in
Mongolia's evolution that has ensured for him a place in that
country's history forever.
The most revered Buddhist leader of Ladakh returned to India in
February 2000, leaving behind a fascinating story of Indian diplomacy
in the land of Chengiz Khan. Today, the average Mongolian greets an
Indian with a warmth and cordiality unbelievable in a country that
has the rarest of rare contacts with India.
Indeed, India owes its presence and appeal in Mongolia to the 86-year-
old head Lama of Ladakh, who passed way here on Tuesday.
Acknowledging the Lama's unique contribution to Indian diplomacy,
External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha in his condolence message
said, "Venerable Bakula had contributed immensely to strengthening of
our bilateral relations with Mongolia."
The minister acknowledged that the Ambassador had "played a
particularly valuable role in reinforcing our traditional religious
and cultural ties with that country". Under routine circumstances,
words like "traditional, civilisational ties" can be easily dismissed
as diplomatic cliche. In Mongolia's case, the connection is truly
unique.
Helping a fledgling nation come out of its communist death-trap,
Ambassador Bakula established the Pethub Stangey Choinkho-rling
Monastery and the Bakula Monastic school in Ulaanbaatar, opening the
doors for a fascinating religious revival in a politically nascent
Mongolia.
Today, the man enjoys divine status in that country, its people
taking every opportunity to express their gratitude to friends from
India. Widely acknowledged as a close ally of His Holiness, the Dalai
Lama, the former Indian Ambassador was decorated with a rare civilian
award by the Mongolian Government in 2001 - the Polar Star. It is the
third highest state order conferred on civilians and rarely given to
a foreigner.
Indeed, the Venerable Bakula will go down in the history of Indian
diplomacy as a unique individual whose religious calling made him a
one-man institutional link in Indo-Mongolian bilateral relations. As
the Head Lama of Ladakh, the venerable Buddhist leader enjoys no less
an icon status back home in India, the Indian Government having
felicitated him with a Padma Bhushan award.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday visited Kashmir House
to place a wreath on the mortal remains of the Buddhist leader. In
his tribute, Mr Vajpayee described the former Indian Ambassador as
a "great spiritual leader, guide and inspiration" of the Buddhist
world. In the condolence book, the Prime Minister wrote, "It is
difficult to imagine Ladakh without him."