Modi Cites French Archive Photo in Rediscovery of 2,000-Year-Old Buddhist Site in Kashmir
In his 129th Mann Ki Baat address, the prime minister described how drone surveys and a long-lost image linked Jehanpora mounds to a Buddhist complex.
Overview
- Modi shared the account on December 28 during his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio programme, marking its 129th episode.
- He said residents in Jehanpora, Baramulla, had seen tall mounds for years until an archaeologist found them unusual on closer inspection.
- According to the prime minister, drone photography and systematic land mapping showed the mounds were remnants of a large human-made structure.
- He noted that a blurred photograph from a museum in France depicting three stupas in Baramulla helped connect the site to an ancient Buddhist complex.
- Modi dated the complex to nearly two millennia and framed the rediscovery as evidence of Kashmir’s deep civilisational roots, urging preservation of such heritage.