Buddhism, Frontier and Nation-Building: The 1955 Visit of the “Indian Xuanzang” to China

Raghu Vira’s 1955 visit to China stands as a significant chapter in the history of contemporary Sino-Indian Buddhist cultural exchange. The diary he kept in Hindi offers a detailed record of this journey. However, this episode remains scarcely mentioned in official narratives of China today, largely because Vira gradually evolved into an emblematic hardline figure toward China within Indian political and cultural circles following his visit. What brought about this shift in Vira’s stance? Moreover, why did Vira, also an advocate of Buddhism, make no mention of the contemporary Navayāna Buddhism movement led by B. R. Ambedkar? This paper seeks to situate these questions within the broader context of Raghu Vira’s life trajectory and the more complex historical and cultural context of India, analyzing the intricate role Buddhism played in the process of Indian nation-building.