Over two millennia ago, a profound spiritual journey began amid the calm Himalayan scenery and throughout the wide plains of the Indian subcontinent. In addition to influencing India's spiritual environment, India's historical ties to Buddhism have also helped modern policymakers strengthen India's soft power by developing cultural ties that are felt throughout South, Southeast, and East Asia, The Bhutan Live reported.

India, the place of origin of Buddhism, has a close spiritual connection to the faith. Scholars and priests travelled throughout far-off nations on pilgrimages while carrying the Buddha's teachings during the height of India's supremacy. Buddhism was spread throughout Tibet, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia as a result of this mystical journey, frequently via Sri Lanka's dynamic centre.

While the Theravada school of Buddhism thrived in South Asia and spread throughout Southeast Asia, Tibetan Buddhism developed in the North and had an impact on Tibet and China. Indian art, culture, and architecture still reflect the country's ancient past, and the iconic three lions of the Ashoka pillar are featured on the flag of the nation. The fact that approximately 10 million people in India still practise Buddhism in 2023 is evidence of the religion's lasting influence, according to The Bhutan Live.

The Bhutan Live covers Bhutan news, politics, Bhutan culture, Bhutanese Buddhism and more, for a unique understanding of the Himalayan region.

The large Tibetan community in India, which first migrated there in 1959 after China occupied Tibet in 1950, is also connected to Buddhism. Since then, India has offered sanctuary to prominent Tibetan religious figures, Tibetan nobles, and common Tibetans who have fled into exile.

Notably, the head of each of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism—Gelug, Kagyu, Nyingma, and Sakya—as well as many other respected Tibetan lamas reside in India, including the fourteenth Dalai Lama, a revered spiritual figure. Although these sects' primary monasteries are still in Tibet, India acts as a haven for the preservation of Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

India has actively pushed Buddhist philosophy and culture in recent years. The International Buddhist Confederation was founded in 2011 with the help of the Indian government by the Global Buddhist Congregation (GBC), which brought together representatives from different Buddhist traditions around the world. This important organisation worked to protect various Buddhist traditions, support academic inquiry, and spread awareness of Buddhism.

Since the mid-2000s, China has also organised worldwide Buddhist conferences known as the World Buddhist Forums (WBF) in an effort to promote its appointed Panchen Lama and win the respect of the Buddhist world. Although China's efforts were overshadowed by the GBC meeting in India in 2011, the succeeding WBF in 2012 was noticeably subdued, as reported by The Bhutan Live.

In March 2017, India held a Buddhist conference in Nalanda that brought Buddhist lamas together under one umbrella further solidifying India's standing in the Buddhist community.

The Indian government has incorporated Buddhism into its bilateral diplomatic efforts since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, especially with Japan and Mongolia.

Private organisations have also contributed to the growth of these ties, as evidenced by the joint Buddhist and Hindu conclave in September 2015 that concentrated on conflict resolution and environmental awareness, The Bhutan Live reported. (ANI)

India's Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the South Pole of the Moon for the first time in its history on August 23 evening. But, the Chinese scientist Wang Xiaoyuan made an explosive comment on such information. He claimed that India's Chandrayaan-3 did not land on the moon. His comments caused uproar. Criticism and controversy have started.

The country's scientist Wang Xiaoyuan gave this information in an interview with the Chinese language newspaper Science Times. The Indian magazine Business Today gave such news citing Science Times.

Wang Xiaoyuan said the place where the rover landed was at 69 degrees south latitude, not near the South Pole. The South Pole is defined between 88.5 degrees and 90 degrees.

In that interview, he also said that the landing site of Chandrayaan-3 is not at the south pole of the moon and it is not near the south pole of the moon. The information about Moon landing at the South Pole is incorrect, as the distance from the Chandrayaan-3 landing site to the Moon's South Pole region is 619 km.

Xiaoyuan is not the first Chinese scientist to question Chandrayaan-3's achievements.

Earlier, Beijing-based space expert Pang Zhihao told state media Global Times that China is far more advanced in many fields. Since the launch of Chang-2 in 2010, China has been able to send orbiters and landers directly into Earth-Moon transition orbits.

Pang Zhihao also said that the engine used by China is also very advanced. India's lander Pragyan has a lifespan of one lunar day and cannot withstand lunar nights, but China's nuclear-powered UTU-2 rover holds the record for longest operation on the lunar surface.

We all know that 24 hours day and night. After the tiredness of the whole day, we sleep at night, waiting for a new dawn. But think once, where the sun does not set, how will the new dawn come? Or where there is no night, when the people will sleep to remove the tiredness of the day? Do you think there is a place? Not unreal, there are places on earth where the sun never sets. After a long sleep where people do not see the dawn.

In today's discussion, we will know some places in the world, where the sun does not set even at night!

Norway: Norway is called the land of the shining sun. The country's geographical location makes it different from other countries in the world. From May until the end of July, the sun does not set in the Norwegian sky. As a result, Norwegian people do not see the night for two and a half months! Another specialty of the country is that the sun can be seen on the horizon even at night from the port of Hammerfest, Norway, as it is located in the Arctic region.

Nunavut, Canada: The Canadian territory of Nunavut is located 2 degrees above the Arctic Circle. The sun does not set here for about two months of the year. Not only that, the sun cannot be seen for 30 consecutive days in this place during winter. That is, the people here live under the shadow of the sun for two months on the one hand, in the same way they have to live in a long night for a month.

Iceland: Iceland is famous for its absence of snakes and mosquitoes. After Great Britain, Iceland is the largest island in Europe. The sun can be seen in this island even at night in June.

Barrow, Alaska: The sun is visible in the night sky from late May to late July (summer) in this area of Alaska. There is the reverse side of the coin! Not only does the sun never set, there are continuous nights here from early November to early December. That's why this place is also known as 'Polar Nights'.

Finland: Finland is called the land of thousand lakes and islands. The sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer in this European country. Similarly, the sun does not appear here for 32 consecutive days in winter. Because of this strange natural disparity, most people in that country believe that people sleep more in winter and less in summer.

Sweden: We all know that 365 days make up a year. But Sweden's year ends in one day! Because half of the year is day here, the other half is night. Even pulled again! So taking the day and night as the sun, it can be said that the year in Sweden is spent in one day! And people here spend half of the year in the dark and the other half in the light.

Diplomatic relations between India and Canada are on the verge of ending over the death of Indian pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Both countries have expelled each other's diplomats.

In this situation, the New York Times report claimed that the United States had provided information to Canada about the killing of Nijjar. Through that information, Canada found India's link in Nijjar's murder.

The New York Times report, quoting an official from the 'Five Eyes Partners', an alliance of intelligence agencies from the US, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, claimed that US intelligence provided information to Canada immediately after the assassination. However, at that time the US was not aware of the possibility of India's involvement in the killings.

Meanwhile, Trudeau claimed on Saturday that Canada had sent information to New Delhi about the killing of Nijjar a few weeks ago. However, India said that Canada could not provide India with any evidence against the information.

On the other hand, Canadian intelligence claimed that Nijjar was a cleric. In response, New Delhi said Nijjar was not a religious guru, but a murderer.

According to India, Nijjar became the head of the Gurdwara by scaring his brother Raghbir.

Hindustan Times reported that pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead inside the Gurdwara on June 18. Hardeep was shot more than 20 times.

According to reports, Nijjar lived in the Punjabi-dominated Sari region of British Columbia, Canada. Hardeep was behind the Khalistani protests in front of the Indian High Commission in Vancouver, Canada in the past few years.

The Russian government has allowed the country's banks and financial institutions to transact in Russian currency.

This information was reported on the official Facebook page of the Russian Embassy in Bangladesh on Saturday (September 23).

According to the information given on the Facebook page, Russia has allowed 30 other countries to trade in ruble currency except Bangladesh. The countries are - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Algeria and Bahrain.

Also included are Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Qatar, Malaysia, Mongolia, Morocco, Oman and Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Vietnam are also allowed to trade in ruble. However, Argentina, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico and Moldova have been excluded from the list.

Recently, before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said that the discussions on commercial transactions in the country's single currency have been going on for quite some time.