Who controls Bodh Gaya's Mahabodhi temple — and why are Buddhist monks rising in protest?

Credit: @indobuddhisthf/X

The quiet temple town of Bodh Gaya, located along the banks of the Niranjana River in Bihar, is not at peace anymore as the Buddhist community has raised a call demanding full control over their holiest shrine, the Mahabodhi Temple.

The Buddhist monks have been sitting in quiet protest near Domuhan, a government-owned tract just outside the main temple area for more than two months. Their demands include repealing the Bodh Gaya Temple Act (BT Act), 1949 and granting the Buddhists exclusive authority over the management of the Mahabodhi Temple.

Why are the Buddhists protesting?

Under the current 75-year-old law, the temple is managed by an eight-member Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC), which comprises four Buddhists and four Hindus, with the District Magistrate of Gaya as the ex-officio chairperson. The protesters argue that this structure reduces Buddhist control and reflects a colonial-era compromise rather than genuine religious autonomy.

“Why should there be members from other religions running our temple management? Our demand is not new, but now, the Buddhist community is determined to continue protesting on the street until their demands are fulfilled,” The Hindu quoted Akash Lama, the monk spearheading the protest as saying.

Bhim Army joins the protest

Posters of Dr B R Ambedkar and banners of the Bhim Army are put up alongside Buddhist flags at the protest site. Volunteers from across India, mainly from Maharashtra, Haryana, and West Bengal, have set up an encampment with food stalls, and sleeping arrangements. “All those who follow Ambedkarji are Buddhists,” Akash said.

“The so called four Buddhist members (in BTMC) are also handpicked by this vested interest, tarnishing the Buddhist image, tradition and culture,” he added. Notably, the four current Buddhists members of the temple management committee have distanced themselves from the protest, saying the key people have “personal ambitions”.

How did it all start?

The Hindu monks assumed control of the Bodh Gaya site after Buddhism’s decline in India following Islamic invasions in the 12th century. The Shaivite Ghamandi Giri established a mutt near the temple in 1590, and over time, the belief that Buddha was a Vishnu incarnation became one justification for Hindu custodianship.

In the 19th century, Buddhist revivalist Anagarika Dharmapala had launched a legal battle against the Hindu mahants to restore Buddhist presence at the shrine.

Post-independence, the BT Act was introduced by the Bihar government to resolve the conflict. While it allowed worship by both Hindus and Buddhists, it also institutionalised a shared management structure that Buddhists have never fully accepted.

In the 1990s, then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav drafted a bill to transfer complete control to the Buddhists. However, the bill was never passed. The All-India Buddhist Forum (AIBF), founded in 2015, has kept the pressure alive with protests and rallies.

Several politicians including Upendra Kushwaha and Satish Das have demanded the temple’s control be handed to Buddhists, raising the issue in state and national assemblies.

The Mahabodhi Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002, receives donations from across the globe. Allegations of mismanagement and infighting over foreign funds have also been raised by the Buddhists over the years. However, the officials have time and again refuted the claims and said that the finances are audited under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).