Wed Nov 19 14:54:16 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text:
India Extends Exposition of Buddha Relics in Bhutan Following Global Peace Prayer Festival
Guwahati, November 19, 2025 – At the request of the Royal Government of Bhutan, India has extended the public exposition of sacred Buddha relics in Thimphu by one week, now set to conclude on November 24. The relics, originally scheduled to return to India on November 18th, were sent as a gesture of goodwill from the National Museum in New Delhi and displayed during the Global Peace Prayer Festival (GPPF) in Thimphu.
The Indian Ministry of Culture stated that the extension was granted due to the immense reverence shown by the thousands of devout Buddhists who have visited the exposition. Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju will participate in the ceremony marking the relics’ return to India on a special flight on November 25th.
The relics, named after Piprahwa, the site of their discovery in Uttar Pradesh, are currently enshrined near the palace of the Kung of Bhutan in Thimphu.
The GPPF, which concluded on Wednesday, also marked a significant milestone for gender equality within Bhutan’s monastic tradition. Approximately 270 Buddhist nuns received full ordination, a step toward addressing the historical inequality between men and women in monasticism within the Vajrayana school of Buddhism. The festival was the first large-scale event bringing together monks from Mahayana, Theravada and Vajrayana schools across 20 countries to pursue common ground.
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