Pakistan irked by Akhand Bharat mural in new Parliament building, expresses "grave concern"

Islamabad, June 2: The Akhand Bharat Mural installed by the Modi Government in India's New Parliament building has left Pakistan rattled. This came after Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson while addressing the media said that the mural is a matter of grave concern.

 

 

Notably, a mural of Akhand Bharat in the new Parliament building depicting the influence of ancient Indian was installed with many claiming it represents the resolve for an Akhand Bharat. The mural, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, marks important kingdoms and cities of the past, and shows the influence of ancient India in the then Taxila, in present-day Pakistan.

 

"The resolve is clear – Akhand Bharat," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Twitter.

 

Irked by this development, Pakistan regretted this installation of a mural. This came after the Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, "We are appalled by the statements made by some BJP politicians, including a union minister, linking the mural with ‘Akhand Bharat".

 

 

"The mural depicts so-called ancient India, including areas that now constitute parts of Pakistan and other regional countries," she added.

 

Further, she said, "The gratuitous assertion of ‘Akhand Bharat’ is a manifestation of a revisionist and expansionist mindset that seeks to subjugate the identity and culture of not only India’s neighboring countries but also its own religious minorities."

 

Also Read: "Akhand Bharat" mural in Parliament goes viral; Modi govt says 'The resolve is clear' 

"It is a matter of grave concern that the idea of Akhand Bharat is being increasingly peddled by individuals belonging to the ruling dispensation in India. The Indian politicians are well advised not to indulge in rhetoric against other countries merely to further their divisive and parochial political agenda," she said.

 

"Instead of nurturing hegemonic and expansionist ambitions, India should resolve disputes with its neighbors and work with them to build a peaceful and prosperous South Asia," she said.

 

Speaking about the mural, Adwaita Gadanayak, Director General, National Gallery of Modern Art said, "Our idea was to depict the influence of Indian thought during the ancient ages. It extended from the present day Afghanistan in the northwestern region to south-eastern Asia," who was involved in the selection of artworks displayed in the new Parliament building.

 

According to the RSS, the Akhand Bharat concept refers to the undivided India whose geographical expanse was very wide in ancient times -- present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand. However, the RSS now maintains that the Akhand Bharat concept, in the present times, should be seen in the cultural context and not political given the partition of India on religious lines at the time of Independence.