Beijing gearing for Kanchi Acharya's visit

By C. Raja Mohan

BEIJING, SEPT. 11. Preparations are in full swing here to receive Sri Jayendra Saraswati, Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, who arrives here on a five-day visit in the second week of October. An advance team of the religious leader is expected here soon to finalise the arrangements for the visit. The surprise move by Beijing to invite the Kanchi Acharya appears to be part of a conscious effort to reach out to segments of Indian society that had long been beyond the pale of the Chinese Communist world view.

The spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mr. Zhu Bangzao, told visiting Indian journalists that there was nothing unusual about the invitation to the Sankaracharya. It was a common practice for China to invite various religious figures, Mr. Zhu said; religious leaders too could promote friendship among nations.

The invitation has not come from the Department of Religious Affairs, which as the name suggests is in charge of issues relating to faith in China. The Sankaracharya has been invited by the Chinese Federation of the Associations for International Contact that hosts a wide spectrum of secular contacts from all over the world.

The Acharya will interact here with many elements of Chinese society, including the Chinese Communist leadership. Besides Beijing, he is likely to visit Shanghai and Hangzhou. If Shanghai is the new showcase for the rapid modernisation in China, Hangzhou is an old Buddhist centre and has many 13th century Buddhist monuments.

As India begins to figure a little larger now on the political consciousness of the Chinese establishment, there is growing awareness here of the need to go beyond their traditional contacts in India and engage the many layers of Indian society. Chinese analysts have also been coming to terms with the rise of Hindu nationalism in India and its implications.

In recent years, the Communist Party of China has established formal contacts with the Bharatiya Janata Party. But this is the first time it has invited a leading Indian religious figure. In the past they had a special relationship with the mainstream Communist parties. They continue to maintain contact with the Congress and have a pending invitation to Ms. Sonia Gandhi.

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Section  : International
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