PHNOM PENH - If the Mahavir Mandir Trust,
an India-based religious organization, has its
way, a massive replica of Cambodia's Angkor Wat
temple will grace the banks of India's Ganges
River. The ancient temple' second coming, divined
to be the largest Hindu shrine in the world, will,
however, rise amid a flurry of diplomatic
complaints and hurt Cambodian feelings.
On
March 5, a spiritual ceremony to purify the land
on which the temple will stand in India's Bihar
province was held, and construction is scheduled
to begin in April, according to Acharya Kishore
Kunal, the Mahavir Mandir Trust's secretary. He
said the massive replica, which is designed to be
larger than the original Angkor Wat, will be built
out of "admiration for the Cambodian people."
"To me, this is the most marvelous
monument ever made by
mankind," Kunal said. "I
just want to make the largest Hindu temple in the
world. My competition is not with Cambodian
culture, it's with the Hindu religious structure."
Cambodian officials have nonetheless taken
spirited affront, arguing that the Indian
organization has no right to copy Angkor Wat's
original design without Phnom Penh's permission.
Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
spokesman Koy Kuong said its embassy in New Delhi
is assessing the situation and that if his
government's permission is not granted "they have
to stop". Kuong said New Delhi has yet to respond
to his government's complaint.
"I was
angry and surprised," said Phay Siphan, the
Cambodian government's Council of Ministers'
spokesman. "Angkor Wat is [our] nation's spirit,
the picture is on our flag. Angkor Wat is
Cambodian sovereignty, it should not be
replicated."
He compared the project of to
a form of imperialism, similar to when various
European countries took possession of historic and
often religiously significant artifacts from the
rest of the world. "We fight against replication
... We want to get rid of this idea," he said.
"They should leave us Angkor Wat, it's unique in
this world."
Erected in the 12th century
by Khmer King Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat and its
surrounding sites are sometimes referred to as the
largest religious monument in the world. Built
originally as a Hindu temple, Angkor Wat was later
used for Buddhist worship after Cambodia's
monarchy converted to Buddhism several centuries
later. Both Buddhism and Hinduism owe their
spiritual roots to ancient India.
Nowadays, the temple - a United Nations'
World Heritage Site - is central to Cambodia's
national identity and is the country's biggest
money-making tourist attraction.
Grassroots Cambodians, the majority of
whom are Buddhist, have echoed the government's
displeasure with the replica plans. "I am just
disappointed because I want Angkor Wat to be the
only one in the world," said Seang Nara, a Phnom
Penh-based law student. "I don't want Angkor Wat
[to be] stolen by another place."
"No
tourists will come to Cambodia. They will go to
India because [the temple] there will be new and
bigger than in Cambodia," said Ly Srun Chhay, a
20-year-old university student in the national
capital.
Certain academics view the
ownership controversy through a wider historical
lens. Sombo Manara, the deputy chairman of the
history department at the Royal University of
Phnom Penh, said he sees India's interest in
Angkor Wat in a positive light, comparing the
planned replica to a Cambodian franchise that will
become popular outside of the country.
"Before we thought that all culture - like
Brahmanism and Buddhism - came from India to
Cambodia. But now why don't we feel happy that our
Cambodian culture is spreading back to India?" he
asked. "This is the first time that they copy from
Cambodia ... Why don't we feel happy with that?"
Manara noted that India was the first
country to send official aid to Cambodia after the
end of the Khmer Rouge period, including funds to
finance Angkor Wat's restoration. He believes the
planned replica will likely fall short of the
original temple's grandeur and fine point detail,
including the over 3,000 reliefs of Apsaras, or
female spirits, carved into Angkor's stone walls.
"If a replica is built, it's still not the
same as [the original] in Cambodia. Of course the
world is competition - we have to attract our
tourists by the original name," he said. "The face
[of the Apsara] is not an Indian face, it's a
Cambodian face. So can the Indians replicate
that?"
Mahavir Mandir Trust's Kunal
concedes there will be several significant
differences. For instance, the replica will not
include the original's outer structures and moat -
the water pools in front of the temple's main
entrance that give it much of its charm. Kunal
said the replica structure will have either more
or fewer than the original Angkor Wat's 13 towers
because the number is considered inauspicious in
India.
The India-based version will also
be built from different materials. While the 12th
century original was made from huge blocks of
stone, the Angkor Wat of 2012, or the Virat Angkor
Wat Ram Mandir, will be constructed from concrete
and granite, Kunal said. "I'm ready for
any change, any suggestion if there's any
problem," he said. "I'd like to make sure there's
no controversy with good wishes from the people of
Cambodia."
He says the replica, which will
rely on donations for its financing, will take
approximately 10 years and cost around US$20
million to build. Mahavir Mandir Trust has created
a Facebook page and blog to promote the project.
Critics in Cambodia, however, have raised
questions about the India group's commercial
rather than spiritual motivations, particularly
considering Kunal has never personally visited
Angkor Wat.
"I wanted to visit during [my]
June vacation, but now I'm slightly scared because
there are many types of people," he said. "Some
people [in Cambodia] want to throw their shoes on
me."
Julie Masis is a
Cambodia-based journalist.
(Copyright
2012 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights
reserved. Please contact us about sales,
syndication and republishing.)
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road,
Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
