‘US Dropping Bombs In Afghanistan Is God Punishing Taliban For Destroying Buddha Statue:’ UP CM Yogi Adityanath

UP CM Yogi Adityanath today said that US dropping bombs in Afghanistan killing some members of the Taliban was God’s punishment for destroying the statue of Gautam Buddha in 2001.

UP CM Yogi Adityanath

New Delhi: Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath today said that the US dropping bombs in Afghanistan killing some members of the Taliban was God’s punishment for destroying the statue of Gautam Buddha in 2001, reported ANI. In an event, ‘Samajik Pratinidhi Sammelan’ held in Lucknow today, the CM said, “You must have seen that just a few days after that the US dropped bombs there and Talibanis began getting killed. We had said that God is punishing them for what they did to the statue of Gautam Buddha.” 

You must have seen that just a few days after that the US dropped bombs there and Talibanis began getting killed. We had said that the God is punishing them for what they did to the statue of Gautam Buddha: UP CM Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow pic.twitter.com/N6D9kAoA89

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 14, 2021

He was referring to the incident of 2001 when the Taliban had destroyed the Buddha statue in the Bamiyan region of Afghanistan. “You must have seen the scenes when the Taliban destroyed the 2,500-year-old statue of Gautam Buddha in Bamiyan, Afghanistan 20 years ago. The world saw that barbarism of Taliban,” Adityanath said. 

“Buddha never imposed war on the world, he will always be the source of inspiration for humanity and the centre of devotion. But no Indian, or anyone supporting peace & harmony anywhere in the world, should forget the scenes of his statue being destroyed by Taliban,” further said the CM. 

Bamiyan region lies in the heart of the Hindu Kush mountain range and was the westernmost extent of Buddhism from its place of origin in India. Two Buddha statues stood in the region for 1,500 years before they were demolished by the Taliban in 2001. 

The region was at that time an intersection of Persian, Turkish, Chinese, and Greek influence. 

According to a report by AFP, after the Taliban captured Afghanistan again this year, the new regime insisted that they were interested in protecting the country's archaeological heritage. The report further stated that a few members of the Taliban now stand guard at the same site.