One of the most horrifying acts of the Taliban was blasting the two magnificent, 1500-year-old Buddha statues in Bamiyan with dynamites, rocket launchers, and tanks. The 10th anniversary of this tragic destruction, which began on March 2, 2011 and took weeks to complete, provides an occasion to reflect on the future of the Afghan heritage. These statues, carved on the face of the Hindu-Kush Mountains, were great representatives of Asian art. The two unique colossi, 55 and 38 meter tall — the first of which was the tallest in the world — synthesised various art styles, including the Gandhara and Greco-Roman. They also represented a wonderfully creative phase of Buddhist history. The Indian government, through the Archaeological Survey of India, played a commendable role in the conservation of the Bamiyan monuments between 1969 and 1977. Although attempts were made in the early 1980s to declare them as World Heritage sites, it was only in 2003 that the effort succeeded. Simultaneously, these heritage structures were placed in the list of sites in danger, which helped mobilise international expertise and financial support for their protection.
UNESCO, which is coordinating the conservation efforts in Afghanistan, deserves the highest praise. Instead of rushing to rebuild the destroyed icons, as desired by some of the heritage experts and funding countries, it opted for a three-phase project to demine the area, strengthen the mountain cliffs, and improve the vicinity. Involving local communities in conservation efforts and building their capacities has been very sensibly made a priority. This sustainable approach, adopted since 2003, has paid dividends and the Bamiyan site is now ready to be removed from the list of World Heritage sites in danger. The demand to rebuild the Bamiyan Buddhas has gained fresh momentum after experts demonstrated the feasibility of reconstructing the smaller of the two statues, using fragments from the original statues. A final decision will be taken after carefully analysing the costs and benefits of the project, including the social gains that would accrue to the local community. The Taliban's barbaric destruction of the Buddhas exposes the limits of international conventions meant to safeguard heritage structures of universal value. In general, these conventions only address the damage caused by conventional war; they are ineffective in dealing with rogue States that vandalise their own cultural properties. There is an urgent need to review these international legal instruments and to make it mandatory for states to protect their cultural diversity and the heritage structures that represent it gloriously.
Keywords: Buddha statues, Bamiyan, Afghanistan, Taliban
It is heartening to note the efforts taken to restore the cultural legacy of the Bamiyan statues.It was a sad and tortuous moment when a 1000 year heritage was blown to pieces by planned destruction. I also suggest that all interested countries in the world come together and build a similar or smaller statue elsewhere along with its historical reference to Bamiyan. It will serve our future generations to erase the negativity that arose after the destruction of Bamiyan statues.
Indian Embassy should welcome the reconstruction of Buddha of Bamiyan Because you are followers of Buddha, Indian diplomats should put pressure on German scientist that the work should be started as soon as possible,
I belong from Hazara ethnic group, I would love to see the giant Buddha of Bamiyan alive,
within a year the taliban had to pay the price when they were ousted from fire and forced to go underground for this outrageous act. hope humanity doesnt allow such evils to throng again.
Good to know that at least one of the Bamiyan Buddhas can be reconstructed in principle, subject to costs and other details. May be it is now time for the UN to ban the following: 1) The belief that one's religion is the only true one 2) The belief that everybody in the world needs to be converted to one's own faith 3) The belief that people following other religions are "infidels" or "kafirs" 4) The belief that people belonging to faiths other than one's own would go to hell 5) The right for every individual to interpret his own faith in his own way for his own purpose and not try to impose 6) A notional ban on all theocratic states.
It was not the Hindus but the Arab invaders who wiped out Buddhism from Afghanistan. Please refer to studies of Historians like Will Durant. Arab invaders started spreading religion through sword, while Buddhists had nothing to defend!
I tell you, The Hindu is the best website for news. These people actually have good articles like the above one.
Afghanistan was a vibrant place with Buddhist belief before Arab invasion. After invasion you know how the place changed and rest is history. The Buddhists had only peace to offer before the war cry of Arab barbarian invaders. It is truly amazing to see that such a person (Great Buddha) existed even before Christ who thought about human mind and its effect!
Yes, the destruction of Bamiyan was a comdemnable act.Is it not surpising you had no time to condemn the destruction of statues of eminent Telugu personalities by TRS goons closer home at Hyderabad?
The demolition of heritage sites is a great loss to humanity. Such vandalism should be stopped. It's a big step to preserve the site and god to know that its no longer a site in danger. Regarding recreation of statues, is it worth to rebuild such huge structures? Rather then rebuilding the statues we can spend that much amount in preserving and renovating the site for its long life. Can we have the assuredness that the statues will not be demolished in near future?
This is sad and cannot be condoned but is not worse than the ways and means adopted by Hindus for centuries to destroy and demolish Buddhism from the face of India. Destructive minds are all over the world all the times.
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