Turkmenistan's fabled Buddhist heritage and India connect

President Ram Nath Kovind's recent highly engaged visit to Turkmenistan may hopefully infuse new life into bilateral relations. The country, which follows a “neutral” isolationist policy is, however, much like the rest of the Central Asian countries linked to India through shared historical and cultural ties that date back to antiquity. While much of the attention has been focused on the Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India (TAPI) gas pipeline and connectivity projects, Turkmenistan, with its rich history and an abundance of exotic sites dotting its landscape, is a tourist's delight. Unfortunately, there are few, if any, tourist links between our two countries. Yet, Indians would find it interesting to know that the country has an amazing Buddhist heritage.

Turkmenistan has traditionally been considered to be at the "cross-roads of history". It has been an important stop on the ancient Silk Route, and a melting pot of different cultures even before that.  It was in the oasis of the Kopetdag plains and Kounya Ourgench, in the Sumbar Valley, the Amu-Darya and the Mourghab River besides Meshed-Misrian, that different historical eras met and different cultures merged.

Ties between the people of India and Turkmenistan can be traced to the remote past. In the pre-Christian era, a Buddhist community following the Mahayana School of Buddhism settled in this region. According to famed Uzbek-Georgian historian Eduard Rtvelarze, who passed away recently, the spread of Buddhism beyond ancient India's boundaries took place during Ashoka's time (circa 268 BC). An important role was played by the Parthian, the Kushana and the Sikh rulers of north-west India in the propagation of Buddhist and Indian culture in Central Asia.

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