Naypyidaw– Once the cradle of Buddhism’s Gandhara civilization, Pakistan now stands as a stark reminder of neglect, decay, and cultural erasure. The near-invisible Buddhist community and the crumbling state of their sacred heritage reveal a larger story of abandonment and marginalization, according to a report published by Myanmar-based outlet Mizzima.
“Pakistan, home to the ancient Gandhara region where Buddhism thrived for centuries, now stands as a paradox: it carries the remnants of a world-renowned Buddhist past while offering little space or dignity to its surviving Buddhist community. As 2025 unfolds, the plight of Pakistan’s Buddhists and the crumbling state of their sacred heritage tell a story not of reverence, but of abandonment and marginalization,” the report said.
The Gandhara civilization, centered in northern Pakistan, was once a flourishing hub of monasteries and stupas across Taxila, Swat, and Peshawar. Pilgrims and scholars from China traveled there for learning, spreading Buddhist thought far beyond South Asia. But that golden era has long since been dismantled by conquest, religious transformation, and systemic neglect. Today, the ruins are treated as archaeological relics rather than living symbols of faith.
The country’s Buddhist population, estimated in the low thousands, survives largely in secrecy. Many fear revealing their religion openly in a society where minorities — including Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, and Ahmadis — face discrimination and persecution. “What was once a vibrant community deeply interwoven with the subcontinent’s cultural fabric has withered into near-extinction, surviving only as a silent remnant,” wrote Sun Lee, the pseudonymous author of the Mizzima report.
Accounts from Buddhist families in Sindh and other regions show the daily insecurity of concealing their identity, often pretending to belong to other faiths to avoid harassment. Those who embrace their faith risk social and economic exclusion, losing even limited opportunities available to them. While Pakistan often showcases its Indus Valley and Mughal heritage on the global stage, its Buddhist past has been pushed to the margins.
“The condition of Buddhists and their sacred spaces in Pakistan is not merely a matter of heritage preservation; it is symptomatic of the broader intolerance that defines the state’s treatment of minorities,” the report said. “When a community is reduced to invisibility, and when the symbols of its history are left to decay, the message is clear: certain faiths are not welcome, and certain pasts are not worth preserving.”
The plight of Buddhists, the report argued, mirrors that of other marginalized groups in Pakistan, with the erosion of Buddhist identity serving as one thread in a broader tapestry of exclusion that undermines pluralism and entrenches a singular narrative of nationhood. (Source: IANS)
