India has emerged as a leading global platform for Buddhist dialogue and reflection under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said while addressing the inaugural session of the Second Global Buddhist Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Friday.
Highlighting India’s civilisational responsibility, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat stated that since Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi assumed office, India has proactively provided an international मंच for Buddhist monks, gurus, scholars and thinkers from across the world. He said this renewed engagement reflects India’s enduring commitment to peace, harmony and collective wisdom rooted in the teachings of Bhagwan Buddha.
The Union Minister underlined the Government’s efforts to preserve and disseminate India’s spiritual heritage, referring to the Gyan Bharatam initiative, one of the world’s largest programmes for digitisation of ancient manuscripts. He noted that the initiative demonstrates India’s resolve to safeguard its vast civilisational knowledge and make it accessible to humanity at large.
Shri Shekhawat also invited delegates and citizens to visit the international exhibition “The Light and The Lotus: Relics of The Awakened One” at the Rai Pithora Cultural Centre, New Delhi. Recalling the historic repatriation of the Piprahwa Relics after 127 years, he described them as living symbols of India’s ancient civilisation and its timeless spiritual legacy.
The two-day Second Global Buddhist Summit is being organised by the International Buddhist Confederation in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, at Bharat Mandapam on January 24 and 25, 2026. The summit is being attended by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju, along with senior dignitaries, monks, scholars and international delegates from across the world.
Held on the theme “Collective Wisdom, United Voice, and Mutual Coexistence”, the summit has brought together nearly 200 international representatives, including leaders of major Buddhist organisations, eminent monks, scholars and practitioners of the Dhamma. The deliberations focus on addressing contemporary and future global challenges through the lens of Buddhist philosophy.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Kiren Rijiju said that Buddha Dharma transcends religious boundaries and belongs to all of humanity. He emphasised that as global interest in the Dhamma continues to grow, India carries a special responsibility to preserve, practice and share the principles of compassion, non-violence, harmony and coexistence.
The Second Global Buddhist Summit reaffirmed India’s position as the land of the Buddha and as a global torchbearer of peaceful dialogue, collective wisdom and mutual understanding in an increasingly interconnected world.
