Jawaharlal Nehru called Buddhism India’s gift to the world. And the world is now warmly accepting that ancient gift and acknowledging India’s status as the source of the religion.

This growing consciousness is resulting in a flurry of overseas exhibition requests at the National Museum from nations that have most of the estimated 35 crore Buddhists worldwide. The latest is from Singapore for an exhibition that has been strategically timed for the East Asia summit when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be addressing a mainly Buddhist conclave of countries like Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar.

“We have got a request from the Foreign Ministry of Singapore for the exhibition and been appointed by the government of India to organise all the artiefacts,” said A K V S Reddy, director general of the museum .

“These exhibitions are also playing a vital role in increasing the soft cultural power for India, especially in Buddhist Countries where traditionally China has held sway,” an official told The Indian Express.

Following the request, the National Museum is collecting around 100 vital Buddhist artefacts, along with five other museums, for the exhibition at Singapore’s Asian Civilization Museum that runs from November 1 to March 23 next year.

The exhibits are being sourced from Buddhist resources museums from all over the country, including the India Museum (Kolkata), Sarnath Museum (Varanasi), Nalanda Museum, Bodh Gaya Museum and Patna Museum (all in Bihar).

The star exhibits will include the said personal remains of Buddha and a rare Copper plate from Nalanda showing the patronage of a great East Asian King Vijaya to the ancient Nalanda University.

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