Dear Editor,
Buddhism was never a branch or a variant of Hinduism. Moreover, there was nothing like Hinduism at the time of Buddha. There was only ‘Vedic Brahmanism’, to which Buddha was opposed. With the rise of Buddhism, ‘Vedic Brahmanism’ was confined to the
corners of the sub-continent and Buddhism spread all over Asia.
Vijaya Kumar Marla
Via-e-mail