High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

During President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s State Visit to India in June 2010, it was agreed that Sri Lanka and India will undertake joint activities to commemorate the 2600th year of enlightenment of Gautama Buddha. Following this agreement, President Rajapaksa wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requesting for the Sacred Kapilavastu Relics to be sent to Sri Lanka for veneration on this historic occasion of significance for both countries.

The Relics, discovered in 1898 in Kapilavastu, the ancient land of the Sakyas, are housed in the National Museum of India, under the greatest care and attention. The shifting of the Relics is a delicate process. As a result, the request from President Rajapaksa initiated a process requiring dedicated effort with much attention to detail on the part of relevant officials in both India and in Sri Lanka, to prepare for the Relics to be taken to Sri Lanka for exposition.  
 
The dates and venues for the exposition in Sri Lanka were agreed with the signing of a MOU last week between the Director General of the National Museum of India and the Secretary of the Ministry of Buddhasasana of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the portion of the corporeal relics of Gautama Buddha that was handed over to the Sakyas of Kapilavastu, according to what is recorded in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, will make their journey to Sri Lanka for the second time since their discovery in 1898. The first exposition took place in 1978, thirty-four years ago.

The schedule for the Exposition is as follows: