You cannot hide three things for long, the sun and moon in the sky, and the truth on earth.

- Lord Buddha

Though born in Lumbini, Nepal, Buddha spent most of his life in India. He attained 'enlightenment' in Bodhgaya and devoted the rest of the life teaching and preaching Buddhism.

His teachings were based on facts of human life, the universe, nature, and anything pertaining to human life. They were not hypothetical but fact-based and real. He did not believe in divine power and did not give false assurances.

Famous historical figures of India like Samrat Ashok and Harsha Bardhan were his devout followers. Samrat Ashok built 84,000 pillars with the teachings of Buddha in India, and Samrat Harsha Bardhan set up Buddhist stupas along the bank of the Ganga River.

They were instrumental in spreading Buddhism in India.

Iconic and idolised, Buddhism crossed the Indian sub-continent, spread to China, Tibet, Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. Up to the 14th century, Buddhism was, perhaps, the largest religion on earth when 85 per cent of the people followed Buddhism in India. Today, according to Wikipedia, the number of his worldwide followers is estimated at 1.05 billion.

But, only .07 per cent of Indians follow Buddhism, though recently, 30 crore indigenous people switched to Buddhism rejecting Hinduism protesting against castiesm and segregation.

Although India was the land of its origin, why did Buddhism decline in India, when it flourished in other parts of the world? Why was it abandoned by the people there? Was it voluntary, or did something else compel them to change their original faith? The philosophy of Buddhism was not acceptable to some people who were more interested in personal gain, power and wealth.

The other huge reason was its popularity among the people. This may have given rise to a grand design to destroy Buddhism and enhance their personal interest.

Multiple efforts were against Buddhism in different stages in its history. The first such conspiracy was initiated by Pushyamitra Sunga, the commander-in-chief of Saket, present day Ayodhya, who murdered King Brihadra Mourya in 185 B.C. since the former was dead against Buddhism. He is blamed for the massacre of thousands of Buddhist monks and encouraging people to murder them even with cash rewards. He also desecrated thousands of Buddhist stupas around the country.

The second such grand carnage against Buddhism was resumed by Adi Sankaracharya in the 9th century.

The famous orientalist, F. Max Muller, claimed that Sankaracharya was an arch-foe of Buddhism and was the main architect behind the downfall of Buddhism in India. He is also blamed for destroying 84,000 Buddhist stupas. At his behest, many stupas and vihars were turned into Hindu maths and mandirs in India. The third conspirator was Shasanka, the king of Bengal, who uprooted the symbolic 'Bodhi Tree' and burned it down in Sarnath.

Muslim invaders in India were equally responsible for the decline of Buddhism in India. The Turk General, Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji, was responsible for the desecration of Nalanda. He burned down the Nalanda Buddhist library in 1299 and murdered many Buddhist monks, besides destroying many Buddhist shrines and stupas. Like him, other Muslims also forced the people to adopt Islam.

Thus after the 14th century, Buddhism declined to 0.07 per cent in India.

With the arrival of the British in India, the dark clouds hovering over Buddhism began to be dispelled.

Some explorers noticed that a vibrant religion like Buddhism existed in India and was in need of rescue. They studied the teachings of the Buddha and scriptures on Buddhist philosophy, culture and architecture.

They were impressed, found it transcendental and life changing.

They realised its importance for human life and decided to revive, research and bring it back to life.

At the forefront of the rescue mission were military officers like Capt. John Smith of the Madras Army.

Some of the ancient caves were completely hidden under thick bushes and forgotten for centuries. He discovered the Ajanta and Allora Caves and made them public. Maj. General Sir Alexander Cunningham, pioneer of the Indian archaeological survey, traced the major Buddhist sites in India mentioned in the travelogue of the famous Chinese pilgrim Huien Tsang. He was the one who located and identified sites like Nalanda, Taxila, Shrugna, Sarnath, Bodh Gaya, Ahichchhatra, Sankisa and Shravasti - all of which had been lost, buried and dead in the record.

Cunningham took personal interest on many occasions to organise the excavation of ancient monuments related to Buddhism.

Besides excavations, and identifying the locations of these world famous sites, he was active also academically. He wrote and published dozens of books and reports related to Buddhism.

The celebrated British scholar, Sir Edwin Arnold, was the one who introduced and popularised Buddha throughout the world. His book 'Light of Asia' or 'The Great Renunciation', published in 1879, was widely acclaimed throughout the world. The book was translated in 30 languages, including Hindi.

Before the book was published, Buddha was little known outside India. Today, the Buddha is upheld not only as the light of Asia but of the world.

Buddhist philosophy gave a new vision of life to the people of the world.

Many universities in Europe and America-run Buddhist study centres taught the teachings of Buddha as being science-friendly.

Scientists and scholars like Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russel highly acclaimed the teachings of the Buddha.

They believe Buddhism will last forever when other religions will fade away in course of time. The arrival of the British in India was a blessing in disguise for Buddha and Buddhism.

Thus credit goes to the British East India Company and its members for the revival of Buddhism in India and the world.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 17, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.