KARNAL: A conservator of Buddhist monuments and documentary filmmaker, Siddartha Gauri, has been invited to delivera talk at the Global Buddhist Congregation, to be held in New Delhi from November 27 to 30 under the aegis of the Asoka Mission.
Gauri will be the only Indian expert to speak on Preservation and Development of Buddhism’. Buddhist leaders, monks and experts from all over the world will participate.
The Yamunanagar-based Gauri (35) has been spearheading an international movement to protect and promote the neglected Buddhists sites to boost spiritual tourism in the country .  His non-religious organzisation The Buddhist Forum (TBF) has launched an international signature campaign 'Save Stupas Save Buddha’ that has received an overwhelming response from Asia. The signatures were handed over to President Pratibha Patil.
His film ‘Dhammachhetra: The Lost Land of Buddha’ focuses on the centuries-old Buddhist monumdhts such as stupas and viharas in Haryana. The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile have lauded Gauri’s effort in highlighting Haryana’s unknown heritage connection with Buddhism.
His other film ‘Ramayana aur Ramsethu’ presents evidence that the Ramsethu or ‘Rama’s bridge' the chain of limestone shoals between India and Sri Lanka is a manmade structure. It is the only Indian film that has been approved by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on the subject. Gauri told HT on Wednesday that, “There are eight known Buddhist pilgrimagé’sites in India but there are more than 300 such sites. Despite reminders, the Centre, state government and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) have done nothing to conserve Buddhist monuments.”