Indian farmers oppose giant Buddha statue

An international Buddhist organization's plans may displace hundreds.

from the September 10, 2007 edition

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"The Matireya Project has no part whatsoever to play in the acquisition process which is – and which by law can only be – entirely the responsibility of the government of Uttar Pradesh," says Ms. Gatter, who added that the Maitreya group would like to reach an equitable resolution with the farmers. "The project, which is planned to include significant educational as well as healthcare programs, will bring extensive benefit to the area and to India," she says.

Costing roughly $250 million and reaching three times the height of the Statue of Liberty (without its base), the 500-foot-tall bronze statue of Buddha will be the world's largest statue and the world's first so-called "statue-skyscraper." It is being designed to last for more than 1,000 years and has the backing of the Dalai Lama.

The Maitreya Project chose Kushinagar because it is considered to be the fourth-holiest site in Buddhism – where the lord Buddha took his last sip of water, delivered his last sermon, died, and was cremated – to plant its beacon of compassion and understanding.

Manicured parks and 100,000 stupas (small Buddhist devotional structures) will surround the statue. The website of the Maitreya Project describes eventually constructing a world-class teaching hospital, museum, audiovisual center, schools, libraries, and more. Maitreya Project funds come from private donations as well as through individual or group sponsorship of the Buddha's giant bronze limbs.

Local farmers have accused officials at the Maitreya Project of attempting to seize their lands in a clandestine, nontransparent manner.

"What is the price of your soul," asks Ram Prashad Gond, a semiliterate farmer with a wife and six young children to feed. "Our land is our life. We have courage – if we have to die, then we die." Other villagers say they fast daily to call attention to their struggle.

But not all area residents predict unhappy days ahead. On the road adjacent to the current Buddhist shrines in Kushinagar, T.K. Roy, a cafe owner who stands to profit from the increased traffic from pilgrims and tourists, says that about half of the people in the area are ready to give up their land, while the other half are skeptical and may need to be forcibly removed. "The whole of Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, and India will benefit, undoubtedly," says Mr. Roy. But he adds wistfully, "the tranquility of the place will be lost."

Some farmers, says Roy, are holding out for higher compensation packages, but that the government cannot pay those farmers a higher rate for their land without paying more to those who have already moved.

"It's the illiterates – they are simply confined to their religious, ancestral principles. Globalization can benefit poor people, too," says Mahesh Sharma, a manager with a local branch of the Punjab National Bank in Kushinagar. "The Buddha left his kingdom; this is all about materialism; Now it's become an industry."

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