COLOMBO, SRI LANKA – Sri Lanka hosted the sacred Devnimori relics of Lord Buddha on Wednesday, marking the first international exposition of these revered artefacts. The relics arrived in Colombo from India with full state honours, signifying a notable moment for cultural and diplomatic relations between the two nations.

A special Indian Air Force (IAF) flight transported the relics to the Sri Lankan capital. The accompanying high-level Indian delegation included Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi.

Upon arrival, the relics, considered among India’s most sacred Buddhist treasures, were enshrined for public veneration at the Gangaramaya Temple, one of Sri Lanka’s prominent Buddhist institutions.

Mahishini Colonne, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to India, described the event as “a rare blessing for Sri Lanka” on X, highlighting its significance as the inaugural international display of the Devnimori relics.

Buddhism holds a central role in Sri Lankan national identity, political culture, and daily life. The exposition reinforces a long-standing civilisational bond between India and Sri Lanka, tracing the roots of the Theravada Buddhist tradition to the island nation.

Origin of the Relics

The Devnimori relics originate from an archaeological site near Shamlaji in Gujarat’s Aravalli district, India. Excavations conducted in the late 1950s at the site uncovered a Buddhist stupa dating back to the early centuries of the Common Era. Inscribed caskets and ritual objects discovered are believed to contain bodily remains of the Buddha, conferring significant religious reverence.

India’s Buddhist Diplomacy

The timing of the relics’ journey to Sri Lanka follows India’s recent hosting of the Global Buddhist Summit in New Delhi. This event underscores a deliberate move in India’s diplomatic strategy to foreground shared Buddhist heritage in its engagement with countries like Sri Lanka.

India has also announced a comprehensive development programme for Buddhist sites across six northeastern states—Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura—where Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions are prevalent.

A statement from India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) noted, “The exposition acts as a powerful instrument of soft power, fostering deeper people-to-people connections, enhancing mutual trust, and complementing formal diplomatic engagements with a profound cultural and emotional resonance.” The statement added that it “reaffirms India’s role as a responsible custodian of global Buddhist heritage and strengthens regional harmony in the Indian Ocean neighbourhood, while reinforcing Sri Lanka’s place as a valued partner in India’s vision of peace, stability and cooperative coexistence in South Asia.”

The Second Global Buddhist Summit, held from 24-25 January, expanded upon its inaugural edition in 2023. Organised by the International Buddhist Confederation and India’s Ministry of Culture, the summit aims to position Buddhism as a cornerstone of India’s regional diplomacy. Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat described India as a custodian of Buddhist wisdom, linking ancient traditions with contemporary global challenges—a reflection of a decade-long strategy to rebuild civilisational links across Asia through Buddhist diplomacy.

Geopolitical Context and China

This strategic outreach also includes an external dimension, particularly concerning China. Beijing has significantly invested in projecting its own Buddhist heritage, integrating temples, academic institutions, and religious exchanges into its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), despite its officially atheist political system. China seeks to position itself as a cultural centre of Buddhism, particularly in East and Southeast Asia.

India’s response has been carefully calibrated, focusing on the sharing of relics that carry considerable religious authority. In a notable diplomatic gesture in November last year, India sent the sacred Piprahwa Buddha relics to Bhutan for a 17-day exposition, celebrating the 70th birth anniversary of the Fourth King of Bhutan. In 2024, the Piprahwa relics were also sent for a 26-day exposition in Thailand.

Furthermore, India’s hosting of the Dalai Lama has consistently drawn objections from China. The Tibetan spiritual leader’s participation in various Buddhist events in India has been a recurring point of contention.

In November 2011, China cancelled border talks after objecting to the Dalai Lama’s participation in India’s Global Buddhist Congregation, the first major Buddhist conference in the country in over 50 years. Similarly, in March 2017, Beijing urged New Delhi to “respect its core concerns” when the Dalai Lama was invited to inaugurate a seminar on ‘Buddhism in the 21st Century’ in Rajgir, Bihar. A visit by the Dalai Lama to Tawang in April 2017, a town revered by Buddhists as the birthplace of the Sixth Dalai Lama, also prompted a sharp reaction from Beijing, which views such visits as politically sensitive, especially concerning the question of the Dalai Lama’s eventual reincarnation, an authority it asserts under 2007 regulations.