In 1965, André Malraux, the French philosopher, author and minister for culture, told an audience at Benares Hindu University about a conversation he had had with Jawaharlal Nehru. The French writer had asked the Indian prime minister, "What, according to you, is the reason Buddhism was lost to India, after India had given Buddhism to the world?" Nehru did not have an immediate answer, but later said he thought India had gradually made Buddha into one its gods and this had led to the disappearance of Buddhism from India.

Today, though, it is an accepted historical fact that the main cause for the disappearance of Buddhism in the sub-continent is the destruction of the great viharas by the Muslim invaders. The fact that Buddhist life was concentrated in these great centres of learning made it an easy prey for the hordes coming in from Afghanistan and Central Asia. The decline of Buddhism had nothing to do with the 'deification' of Buddha; this, in fact, indirectly bequeathed humanity with some of the most marvellous art pieces that Malraux loved so much.

The historian R C Majumdar quite rightly wrote: "Individuals, or even small sects, directly or indirectly professing the religion, might be found in the country for centuries to come and may be said to exist even now, but Buddhism as a force in society vanished from India since 1200 AD never to return."

A Tibetan monk, Dharmasvamin, who visited Nalanda in 1235 AD leaves us a very sad picture of the plains of Bihar where the Buddha had earlier propagated his message of compassion and non-violence. He saw only destruction at Nalanda and could not recover a single manuscript from the once-rich library. Finally, he met an old monk in his nineties who could teach him some Sanskrit. Dharmasvamin studied for some time with the old monk and, on hearing that the Muslim troops were approaching again, he carried his old master on his shoulders to safety until the raiders had gone. It is this enduring image that symbolises the end of an era.

One would have thought the barbarian destruction of the remnants of a rich culture could not happen again in this new millennium. But, for the past couple of weeks, we have seen similar events occurring all over again in Afghanistan, where the Taleban mullahs have decreed that all "idols of the infidels" should disappear. The most famous amongst these 'false gods' are the giant statues of the Buddha in Bamiyan, in central Afghanistan.

"Now that we are destroying false idols, the world has made a drama out of it. The Muslims in the world, particularly the Afghan Muslims, should use their common sense," declared Taleban chief Mulla Muhammad Omar. He tried to prove his common sense by saying: "I would like to ask you -- do you prefer to be called statue-destroyers or statue-sellers?" Ordinary human beings would find it difficult to see the logic of the fanatic Afghan leader.

Afghanistan was not always like that.

rest of the article is at http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/mar/12spec.htm

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