ATOP A HILL overlooking Itanagar, lies the Centre for Buddhist Culture Gompa, which houses the city’s only Buddhist monastery. With its panoramic view and serene surroundings, the centre is a popular sightseeing spot. Thousands of prayer flags fluttered gently in the cool, northern breeze, while children ran around playing on the grounds. “People visit as tourists,” said the monastery's most senior lama. He had just stepped out of an empty prayer hall, after an hour of reading religious texts. “Few take the time to remove their shoes and enter the shrine to pray.”
There are only a handful of Buddhist monasteries left in Arunachal Pradesh, where 60 per cent of the population practised Buddhism until the 1960s; the remainder practised primitive tribal faiths. By the 1990s, the Buddhist population had fallen to 14 per cent and, by the 2011 Census of India, to 12 per cent. Today, Buddhism faces the threat of extinction. According to unofficial estimates, a mere 7 per cent of the state’s 14 lakh people are Buddhist.
“We are nowhere today,” said the lama. “Buddhism now exists only in a few towns like Tawang and Bomdila and some areas bordering Tibet.” Pointing downhill towards Itanagar, he said, “You will hardly find any Buddhists there. They have converted to other religions. Christianity is the booming religion. It attracts people with money, a good life and education. We are not here to prevent people from converting. That's not part of our religion.”
The 2011 census found Christianity to be the leading religion in Arunachal Pradesh, accounting for 30 per cent of the population. Since then, it has grown by at least 5 per cent. There are 36 denominations of Christianity in the state today.
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