The “tolerance of Hinduism” has already been proved to be a fallacy in history. The great monist Vedant’s, Shankaracharya, entered into arguments with his adversaries on condition that, if they conceded defeat, they would commit suicide. Buddhism was the widespread religion of this peninsula till the rise of Sankara, yet there are very few remains of Buddhist temples and viharas left in India today. There were at least 700 viharas in the State which was, therefore, named Bihar. How many of them still exist? Who destroyed them?
The sacred fig-Tree, Bodhi drum, at Gaya, was said to have been felled by the Sankara’s followers. The Jagannath temple of Puri, as even Vivekananda acknowledged belonged, originally to the Buddhists. How did it become a Hindu temple? Will the modern protagonists of Hindutva probe into all these facts before taking up the cudgels io correct the historical error of the Babri mosque? (Statesman, March 28). Untouchables of Bihar will have to launch a struggle to recover our viharas — EDITOR.
