Kalsi edict in Uttarakhand

 Kalsi town in Uttarakhand is known for its Ashoka edict in history, which has Buddhists texts inscribed in Pali language. The Buddhists from this region have made an appeal to the Uttarakhand government to include this edic into the Buddhist circuit.

Buddhist teacher Ashvagosh said that this edict is an invaluable asset in the form of rock engraving of King Ashoka on Buddhism. The teacher also met to a senior government official to include this site in the Buddhist circuit, so the domestic and international tourists may get a glimpse of this place. The tourists having interest in Buddhism, pilgrims or the people having interest in the historical places will  certainly visit and acquire knowledge. The proposal has been taken into consideration.

The Archaeological Survey of India maintained and preserved the Kalsi edict, which had erected a concrete boundary around the edict and a spot from where one could view the place of edict. There has been a great demand for the declaration of the site as a UNESCO heritage site. The Buddhist teacher demands the due importance of the site and the rock, and bring it out of the obscurity.

According to the Hiroo Hito, a prominent Buddhist social worker, the Kalsi edict is the only edict in North India where the great Mauryan emperor Ashoka inscribed the set of fourteen rock edict as per the ASI notification. The edict has Pali language and Brahmi script. The edict describes the administration system, the humane approach by Ashoka and his fatherly concern for the moral and humane welfare of his subjects. The other important subjects are commitments to non-violence and abandonment to warfare. Hito believes that the preaching were based on the actual prevailing system of the administration. The whole world knows how the great Ashoka beame a symbol of peace to the world after seeing the consequences of war after Kalinga war.