Description
Through six avenues, Indian thoughts and experiences in religious, cultural, legal and political spheres flowed to Southeast Asia: 1) the conception of royalty that is prevalent in the Hindu-Buddhist realm, 2) the translation and transmission of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, two great Indian epics, 3) literary expression in the sphere of culture in the Sanskrit language and, in Buddhist countries, in Pali as well, 4) observance of Dharmasastras, the vast body of Indian traditional laws compiled in the Manu and elsewhere, 5) through the modern Indian ideology of ahimsa and non-interference, which were (and still are) inspired by Hindu-Buddhist traditions and most effectively preached and practiced by Mahatma Gandhi, 6) and in modern time through India’s vast experiences in the fields of democracy and constitutionalism. Almost all the countries of Southeast Asia bear evidence of Indian influence, which was transmitted through maritime contacts across the Indian Ocean and through overland contacts as well. I will draw examples from the Bay of Bengal region. Myanmar remains for me the most fascinating case, as Myanmar not only absorbed such maritime and overland influences, but also indigenized the Indian ideas, while remaining the closest cultural and political partner of India. The presentation will focus on Gandhiji’s voyages to British Burma, focusing on Gandhiji as an avatar of Buddha, and the supreme symbol of ancient Indian contacts with Myanmar. Coming to another aspect of nation-building, the legal-constitutional experiences of India provided Myanmar (then called Burma) with the necessary impetus from the end of the Second World War until the time of the independence of Myanmar in 1948. In comparison with the contributions of many other personalities, Jawaharlal Nehru’s contribution to this particular field, as far Myanmar is concerned, appears to me to be quite significant. Time permitting, I might also explain how many of the ideas that were derived from Hindu-Buddhist traditions flowed from Myanmar back to India and again went through a process of metamorphosis or indigenization. Such processes will be illustrated with reference to communities of Buddhists in Northeast India, who came to Upper Assam and to the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh. Here, experiences of my field visit to this remote corner of India will be shared with the audience.