Controversy erupted over the Akhand Bharat mural in the new Parliament amid the ongoing visit of Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”.
The Akhand Bharat mural depicts a map of ancient India with the names of Indian states written on it. It shows Mansahari Takshashila in the North, Purushpur in the North West and Kamrup in the North East.
Akhand Bharat refers to undivided India whose geographical area includes present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India as one nation.
Nepal's former PM and Nepal Socialist Party leader Baburam Bhattarai has raised questions on the mural. He has said that India should express its intention behind the installation and clarify itself.
"The controversial mural of ‘Akhand Bharat’ in the recently inaugurated new Parliament building of India may stoke unnecessary and harmful diplomatic row in the neighbourhood including Nepal. It has the potential of further aggravating the trust deficit already vitiating the bilateral relations between most of the immediate neighbors of India. It would be prudent for Indian political leadership to unravel and communicate in time the real intent and ramification of this mural episode," he tweeted.
Another former PM of Nepal KP Sharma Oli said, "A country like India which sees itself as an ancient and established country and as a model of democracy, keeps Nepali areas in its map and hangs the map in the Parliament, this cannot be considered appropriate. I would say that our PM Prachanda should seek clarification on this from India during his visit to India," he said as quoted by media reports.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told Pakistan media, "We are appalled by the statements made by some BJP politicians including a Union Minister, linking the mural with ‘Akhand Bharat."
She added that the claim of 'Akhand Bharat' shows the expansionist mindset of the people of India, which wants to suppress not only its neighbouring countries but also the ideology and culture of religious minorities.
"We urge that India should stay away from expansionist ideology and come forward to settle disputes with its neighbouring countries in a peaceful manner," she further added.
On May 28, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi tweeted a photo of the Akhand Bharat mural art installed in the Art Gallery of the new Parliament and wrote, "The resolve is clear - Akhand Bharat".
(With inputs from ANI)