The Return of the Buddha traces the development of Buddhist archaeology in colonial India, examines its impact on the reconstruction of India’s Buddhist past, and the making of a public and academic discourse around these archaeological discoveries. The bookdiscusses the role of the state and modern Buddhist institutions in the reconstitution of national heritage through promulgation of laws …
The popular English daily TheHindu carried a news item in its Friday Review on September 10, 2011 under the title ‘Kapilavastu Relics to be displayed in Sri Lanka’. The article referred to the unearthing of the relics at Piprahwa in the present Indian state of Bihar by Major General (retired) Alexander Cunningham (1814–93), the first head of the Archaeological Survey …