The outburst of Buddhist nationalism in recent times may have long-term implications and the impact is going to be widespread, influencing the security of the entire region of South and Southeast Asia, including the Indian subcontinent.
The situation in Bodh Gaya in India's Bihar state is an expression by the Muslim community, that no matter their numbers, their existence cannot be overlooked and that they are a "force to reckon with".
The flaring up of the issue outside Myanmar, especially in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and now India, is certainly going to affect the peace and stability of the region, given the support they enjoy from the Islamist world.
The ongoing sectarian violence between the Buddhist majority and Islamic minority in Myanmar is no longer an internal affair of Myanmar alone. Given the demographic challenges and distribution of population in the region, what is supposed to be a "majority" in Myanmar is actually a "minority" in the adjoining countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Concerns have been raised about the violence among Myanmar nationals in Malaysia and Indonesia. These have radicalised Muslims outside Myanmar, which has resulted in retaliation and retribution, and the spillover effect is going to be appalling.
The discriminatory practice of a "one child" policy, particularly for the Rohingya community, and now the draft law which bans Buddhists from marrying Muslims have all aggravated this "majority-minority" divide in Myanmar. Though an advocate of democracy, the voice of democratic icon Aung San Suu Kyi has fallen on deaf ears. The religion which stands for non-violence and tolerance has turned out to be an enigma for itself when its followers contradict their religion's basic beliefs and convictions.
In the light of clashes between Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine state, particularly the incidents in central and northeastern Myanmar in recent months, the alleged plans of radical groups to target Buddhist installations in India are going to take an ugly shape. Myanmar has so far seen approximately 200,000 Rohingya Muslims living in Rakhine state being displaced as stateless, having fled persecution. In the recent sectarian violence around 12,000 people have been displaced in various regions.
It is, however, believed by the Buddhist majority in Myanmar that the entire issue has been fuelled by the media. According to them, the negative portrayal of the Buddhist and Myanmar communities by the print and social media has fanned communal sentiment worldwide.
Monks have collectively registered a protest to publicly denounce the effort to malign their religious identity.
But how far they use it as a cover up, time will only tell. It may, however, be recalled that the "Burmese Way of Socialism" _ an integration of Buddhism, nationalism and socialism, adopted by Gen Ne Win in the wake of military rule in Myanmar _ actually resulted in isolation of the regime and made it a hermit kingdom in the present age of globalisation. The same blunder is being committed by the so-called reformist regime of the nascent democracy. This oversight may result in severe faultlines which may badly affect the social fabric of the nation.
For a long time in Myanmar, communities have coexisted peacefully and in fact amalgamated with the mainstream society _ such as Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Historically, apart from the question of ethnic nationalities, rarely any odd incident of communal clash had occurred in Myanmar.
Therefore, this upsurge of nationalism in Myanmar, especially in the context of the recent 969 movement, has invited stern criticism from the international community as opposed to the acclaim from its own government. The policy of appeasement and "hide and seek" which the present regime in Myanmar has resorted to is actually going to flare up throughout the entire region. Monks being killed and Muslim houses being torched are in fact a threat to humanity itself. Violence may result in terrorism in Myanmar which may spread to neighbouring countries.
If remained uncontrolled, the spillover effect will have repercussions for the bordering regions as violence respects no borders. The transformation of this sectarian violence from local to regional issue is of grave concern to many Myanmar watchers. Given continuing confrontation and retaliation, it is beyond doubt that the problem will soon assume an international character.
At this critical juncture in Myanmar, regime change is not enough; it has to be accompanied by social and economic reform.
Sonu Trivedi teaches political science in Zakir Husain Delhi College, University of Delhi.