Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Kushinagar international airport on Wednesday in the presence of ministerial colleagues, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and representatives from 12 countries including a special Sri Lankan delegation led by minister Namal Rajapaksa, a son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The airport in eastern UP, the third international airport in the election-bound state, will mainly service the Buddhist tourism circuit. The Sri Lankan Airlines flight carrying monks and dignitaries was the first to land at the airport.
Kushinagar and The Buddha
Among the most important of Buddhist pilgrimages, Kushinagar was where The Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana (ultimate salvation) in c. 483 BC.
Today’s Kushinagar is identified with Kushinara, capital of the ancient Malla republic, which was one of the 16 mahajanapadas of the 6th-4th centuries BC.
The area went on to be part of the kingdoms of the Mauryas, Shungas, Kushanas, Guptas,…