HYDERABAD: Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are now chanting the name of Gautama Buddha. They are doing it not out of devotion, but in a desperate attempt to attain nirvana of ‘job creation’ in their respective states.
The chief ministers of both states, N Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrasekhar Rao, are now banking on Lord Buddha to woo investors from east Asian countries. Strange it may sound, but both Naidu and Rao are in a competition to revive rich Buddhist heritage sites in their respective states.
As Buddhisim had flourished in the Telugu land, which includes Andhra and Telangana, during the period of Mauryan Empire and mighty Satavahana regime, the governments of the two states have begun exploring the glorious past of Buddhism.
In this bid, the two governments are trying to resurrect rich Buddhist heritage sites in their respective states. For instance, after naming the proposed new capital of the state after Amaravati, the ancient Buddhist heritage town in the state, Andhra government is planning to develop two mega Buddhist Heritage Tourism Circuits covering 21 prominent Buddhist sites spread over eight districts across the state, at an estimated cost of `1,500 crore. “We will revive rich Buddhist heritage sites across the state to attract tourists and Buddhist pilgrims from across the globe,” said Naidu.
Not to fall behind, Rao too announced that his government would develop Nagarjuna Sagar, location of a massive irrigation project, as a prominent place of Buddhist significance.
What made the two chief ministers to suddenly resurrect the forgotten Buddhist heritage sites in both the states? The chief ministers are seeking Buddha’s help to implement their poll promise. Of all the promises they made, creation of lakhs of jobs for the unemployed youth is the most daunting one. As youngsters constitute a significant chunk of voters, neither Naidu nor Rao can ignore their promise. Hence, both the chief ministers are now moving heaven and earth to attract investments to their respective states on the industrial front to create employment opportunities in private sector. Both the chief ministers are now looking towards China, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, where FMCG manufacturing sector is flourishing.
Naidu’s efforts to fall back on Buddha by christening the new capital after ancient Buddhist town, Amaravati, seems to have begun paying off. Businessmen from Chengdu in Southwest China have showed interest to invest in Andhra Pradesh in agriculture, IT and tourism sectors.