We  have  assembled  here  in  Nagpur,  Maharastra,  to  celebrate  the auspicious occasion of this year’s Vijayadashami. The year 2017 is the  birth  centenary  year  of  Ven.  Padmabhushan  His  Eminence Kushok Bakula Rinpoche. This year is also the 125th anniversary of  Swami Vivekananda’s  historic  Chicago  speech  and  150th  birth anniversary of his renowned disciple Bhagini Nivedita.

The  Buddhists  of  the  entire  Himalayan  region  consider  His Eminence  Kushok  Bakula  Rinpoche  as  the  incarnation  of  Bakul Arhat, one of the 16 Arhats of Thathagath Buddha. He has been the most revered Lama of Ladakh, and he played a crucial role in the spread of education, social reforms, eradication of social evils and awakening of national consciousness towards the Ladakh region. In 1948, when the Pakistan army attacked Jammu and Kashmir in the disguise of Kabaili tribes, with his inspiration, the youth from Ladakh formed the Nubra guard and did not allow the aggressors to cross Skardu.

Bakula Ripoche’s remarkable contribution as a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, as a minister in the State Government  and  as  a  member  of  Lok  Sabha,  was  always  with national perspective. He was the Ambassador of India to Mongolia for  10  long  years.  During  his  tenure  there,  his  contribution  in  the revival  of  Buddhism,  after  of  80  years  of  Communist  rule,  was outstanding. For this, he is still being revered in Mongolia. In 2001, he was conferred with the Mongolian Civilian Award, ‘Polar Star’.

He  is  revered  for  his  spiritual  wealth,  unwavering  national commitment and incessant selfless work in public interest. Acharya Bakula manifested the same national vision of Bharat towards global humanity  through  his  personal  and  social  conduct  which  Swami Vivekananda had declared in his Chicago speech.

Quoted from the RSS website

Padma Bhushan Kushok Bakula’s appraisal by RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat is very significant because it came as a thought-provoking one for the people of Ladakh. Later, I, in my capacity as the Director of the Centre for Research on Ladakh, took the liberty to respond to the speech by writing the following letter to Shri Mohan Bhagwat, and  copies  were  sent  to  persons  who  are  in  a  position  to  built  a tangible educational and cultural institution in the memory of Padma Bhushan Kushok Bakula and to carry his legacy to further height so that the coming generation could remember this great saint and thinker  who  worked  for  the  betterment  of  the  people  of  Ladakh selflessness. The letter is reproduced as a rejoinder here:

Sarsanghchalak

Dr. Mohan ji Bhagwat

Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh 1465,

Aryachit Road,

Rashim Bagh Nagpur,

Maharastra 440024

Esteemed Dr. Mohan Ji Bhaghwat,

CRL-2017/18 October 15, 2017

The Vijayadashmi  speech  by  you  came  as  a  pleasant  surprise  not only  to  us  but  to  the  whole  nation.  In  the  speech,  you  have highlighted  the  greatness  of  most  Ven.  Padma  Bhushan  Kushok Bakula Rinpoche who selflessly worked to protect Ladakh, the crown of India, from the Kabailis, supported by the Pakistani army in 1948.

Kushok Bakula Rinpoche was a noble person who worked tirelessly to bring the most backward region of our country to the mainstream of  the  Indian  nation.  Kushok  Bakula  was  urged  to  do  so  by  none other than the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

The Rinpoche was a Buddhist monk who came to the mainstream of Indian politics to elevate the oppressed people of Ladakh. He first became a Legislator in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, then the Ladakh Affairs Minister, a Member of Parliament, a Member of the Minorities Commission and finally Indian Ambassador to Mongolia.

On  December  12,  1952,  Kushok  Bakula  boldly  spoke  out  against the discriminatory policies of the Jammu and Kashmir Government, headed Sheikh Abdullah, the then Wazir-e-Azam (Prime Minister) of the state and quickly emerged as the undisputed leader of Ladakh, as well as an important leader of the Buddhist world.

The amount of pressure he put on the leaders of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir for the cause of Ladakhi people could be judged from the conversation held between Pandit Nehru and Bakshi Ghulam  Mohammed,  who  later  became  the  Prime  Minister  of Jammu  and  Kashmir  in  the  aftermath  of  the  dismissal  of  Sheikh Abdullah  from  the  post.  Bakshi  Ghulam  Mohammad  proposed  to Nehru that the “Centre should take over the administration of Ladakh as it was impossible for any government in Srinagar to do full justice to the cause of the Ladakhis”.

As the celebration of the 2500 Buddha Jayanti was drawing near, the Indian Government was looking for a Buddhist religious leader who could influence the Buddhist community of India. In 1955, the Government  of  India  sent  Kushok  Bakula  to  Tibet  to  assess  the situation there, on account of the massive Chinese build-up in Tibet and the Red Army intrusion in that country. The Government of India nominated Kushok Bakula as a member of the National Committee for the Buddha Jayanti celebration in the year 1956, headed by the then Vice-President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. With the 1962  India-China  war,  Ladakh  became  a  sensitive  border  region.

Nehru  visited  Leh,  and  flew  with  Kushok  Bakula  to  Chushul,  in Ladakh, to meet the soldiers, landing on an airstrip built on a barren land  in  a  region  which  is  considered  inaccessible  in  Ladakh  even today.

Kushok  Bakula  Rinpoche  propagated  the  meaning  of  modern education in the region at a time when the people of Ladakh were carrying on an isolated way of life, far from the reaches of scientific discoveries, mass communication and transport. Before he stepped into  politics,  only  a  few  schools  were  functioning  in  the  region.

Those  that  did  exist  had  a  small  number  of  enrolled  students.  He toured  every  corner  of  Ladakh  to  teach  the  people  about  the importance of education to the democratic set-up of the country. In fact, he linked the well-being of the population of the region with modern  education.  Thanks  to  the  efforts  of  Kushok  Bakula, according to estimates at present, around 10,000 Ladakhi students are  receiving  their  higher  education  in  different  universities  and institutions of the country in the absence of higher learning centres in the Ladakh region, which is a matter of concern to everyone. Apart from his parliamentary and political activities, Kushok Bakula took a  keen  interest  in  the  affairs  of  international  Buddhism  and contributed to strengthening India’s relationship with the rest of the Buddhist  world.  Due  to  the  long  struggle  under  the  dynamic leadership  of  Kushok  Bakula,  Ladakhis  obtained  Schedule  Tribe status in the year 1989, two Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils in the year 1995.

In 2001, Kushok Bakula Rinpoche was conferred with the Polar Star,  awarded  by  the  President  of  the  Republic  of  Mongolia,  the highest  national  award  of  that  nation,  for  his  outstanding contributions  to  strengthening  the  Buddha  Sasana  and  Buddhist culture in that country. In 1986, in recognition to his services to the nation,  the  President  of  India  conferred  the  prestigious  Padma Bhushan on him. On his passing away of 4th of November, 2003, Mr. Atal  Bihari Vajpayee,  Prime  Minister  of  India,  while  offering his  condolences  wrote:  “In  the  passing  away  of  Most  Venerable Kushok Bakula, an eminent Buddhist scholar, a saint, guide and a source of inspiration for all, is lost. It is difficult to imagine Ladakh without Kushok Bakula ji.”

Indeed, Kushok Bakula was a pioneer and a tall Buddhist figure who strived hard for inter-faith dialogue, peace movement and issues concerning ecology and environment. This can be judged from the speech of Dr. Manmohan Singh while dedicating the Leh airport in the name of Kushok Bakula Rinpoche: “In doing, so we pay tribute to  the  memory  of  Most  Venerable  Kushok  Bakula  Rinpoche,  the architect of Modern Ladakh. Venerable Kushok Bakula was a noble saint, a teacher, a patriot, a beloved leader, a true Buddhist and, above all, a great Indian. It is only appropriate that we name this airport, the link between the high Himalayas and the world below, after this great son of Ladakh and this man of God”.

Similarly, the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, while addressing  the  Mongolian  Parliament  in  June  2015,  most appropriately  said,  “It  (our  relations)  lives  through  the  work  of Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, India’s ambassador here in 1990-2000.

The  Pethup  Monastery  he  established  here  will  be  an  enduring symbol of our links.”

Indeed  much  of  the  aspirations  of  the  people  of  Ladakh  were achieved under the dynamic leadership of Most Venerable Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, and the people of Ladakh and his followers in the rest of the world are paying him rich tribute by observing the year 2017 as Centenary Year.

We,  the  people  of  Ladakh,  in  association  with  the  District Administration, are confident to raise a Kushok Bakula Rinpoche Memorial Art Gallery in Leh on a prime land in Leh town with the financial support of the Jammu and Kashmir Government, soon. By taking this opportunity, we now seek intervention and support for the accomplishment of some of the wishes of Kushok Bakula, which are left unfulfilled by the Union Government:

1. Recognition  of  Ladakhi  as  an  Indian  language  by  the  Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi: The State of Jammu and Kashmir has three distinct  regions  as  well  as  three  distinct  languages.  The  two languages  i.e.  Dogri  and  Kashmiri  have  recognition  as  Indian language by the Sahitya Akademi as well as the language of the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution. However, unfortunately, the language of the largest geographic area of the State is not granted such a status till date in spite of our repeated demands even though it is the socio-cultural and socio-religious language of the greater Himalayan region. This may due to the fact that in Indian politics, the Ladakh region is insignificant as it gives only one member to the Lok Sabha.

2. Issuance  of  Kushok  Bakula  Rinpoche  commemorative  Postal Stamp: The Postal Department of the country may be urged to bring out a commemorative stamp during the centenary year.

3. Awarding  Bharat  Ratna  and  placement  of  Kushok  Bakula’s portrait  in  the  Central  Hall  of  Parliament:  In  this  regard,  we request your good-self to extend your personal support.

4. Setting up of Kushok Bakula Central University in Leh: In the absence of a university within the reach of common students of Leh town even after 70 years of our independence, the student community  of  Ladakh  is  suffering. Therefore,  we  request  you to  kindly  use  your  good  offices  for  sanctioning  a  Central University in Leh, on the patter of those in Jammu and Srinagar.

Regards,

Sincerely,

Nawang Tsering Shakspo

Director