India can do more with its Buddhist inheritance

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Soon after coming to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi prudently decided to emphasise India's rich tradition of Buddhism in a soft-power approach to Asian geopolitics.

Apart from countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Japan, Sri Lanka, South Korea and Mongolia, Mr Modi even reached out to China to revive India-China ties. He visited China's ancient temples in Xi'an and made an offering in front of massive golden statues of Buddha amid monks chanting sutras.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 25, 2018, with the headline India can do more with its Buddhist inheritance. Subscribe