It is not a big concern about where Buddha was born. But, for those people who are from the country where Buddha was born, it will be big matter when they hear that Buddha was born not in their country but in another country.
When I came abroad for the first time, I encountered one situation where I was tried to convince that Buddha was born in India, not in Nepal. I got a big surprise as I am from Nepal. I have encountered such situations many times in Poland and in USA. It seems that many people in different countries have misconception about Buddha's birth place. I got to know about this only when I came abroad. So, what is the reason behind this misconception?
I guess that the reason can be some false information which can be found in internet, in books and even in Bollywood films.
Google map provided false information "birthplace of Buddha, Utter Pradesh, India".
The book "The Post American World" by Fareed Zakaria (author of The Future of Freedom) provided the false information that "Buddha was Indian and Buddhism was founded in India".
A recent bollywood movie “Chandni Chowk to China (2009)” had mentioned that Buddha was born in India.
In Nepal, there were protests against the film due to a passing claim that Buddha was born in India.
Several shows were cancelled due to heavy protests from students and youth groups. Protests included threats by Buddhists to burn movie theaters that screened the film, and hurled at the Indian embassy in Katmandu.
The protests continued for several days, despite the Nepali distributor editing out the piece of narration that mentioned Buddha in the copies of the film shown in Nepal. On Thursday, 22 January Nepali cinemas stopped screening Chandni Chowk to China.
What is the Truth?
India is trying to show that Buddha was born in India and even that Kapilvastu (where Buddha spent 29 initial years of his life) is in India.
India says that the present day village in India “Piprahwa” is the ancient Kapilvastu and later it was renamed as Piprahwa.
False Kapilvastu being constructed in India
The Truth About Kapilvastu
Kapilvastu is the name of a region of ancient Shakya kingdom that is considered a holy pilgrimage place for Buddhists, located close to Lumbini. The result of years of excavation and research by numerous international teams have concluded that Kapilvastu is in Nepal and is acknowledged by the UNESCO as well as the governments of India and Nepal.
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