How Buddhist Emperor Ashoka ruled a diverse population- By P. K. Balachandran Source:Sundayobserver Personally, a committed Buddhist, who also preached Buddhism, Emperor Ashoka used universally acceptable moral principles to unite and rule his vast Empire with a diverse population. A perusal of the works of two outstanding Sri Lankan scholars on Emperor Ashoka, Prof.Patrick Olivelle and Dr.Ananda Guruge, reveals that as an individual, Ashoka was a committed Buddhist, but as a king, he was secular, using universally applicable moral principles to rule his vast Empire populated by people of different faiths and cultures. Patrick Oliville is an Emeritus Professor of Indology at the University of Texas at Austin USA and the late Dr. Ananda Guruge was Sri Lankan diplomat and Buddhist scholar. Directly or indirectly, Ashoka ruled much of India from the far North up to the Chola and Kerala country in the deep south in the Third Century BC ...