Source: NetIndia123
On May 8, 2006 NetIndia123 reported, "The Buddhists' demand for control of one of their most holy sites-- the 1500-year-old Mahabodhi temple in Gaya town of Bihar --has been taken up by the National Minorities Commission(NCM) and it has decided to write to the state Government in this connection. The place is significant because it was here that 2500 years ago that Buddha attained enlightenment under a banyan tree, called the Bodhi tree. 'We have decided to seek the Law Ministry's opinion and also to write to the Bihar Government urging it to concede the Buddhists longstanding demand for control over the affairs of the shrine by amending the Mahabodhi Temple Management Act, 1949,' NCM Member Lama Chosphel Zotpa told UNI. Under the 1949 Act, the temple's affairs are to be managed by a committee of nine members, five of whom are to be Hindus, including the head of the committee. The Buddhists claim that they are deprived of any say in managing their most sacred shrine, said Mr Zotpha."