<p>After Nepal and Pakistan, now Bangladesh has sought explanation on the ‘Akhand Bharat’ [undivided India] mural that has been installed in the new Indian Parliament building.</p>

<p>Bangladesh’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said that he has “instructed” the Bangladesh Embassy in Delhi on Monday to contact India’s Ministry of External Affairs to “get India’s official explanation on this matter”.</p>

<p>However, he said that there was “no reason to express doubts” about the explanation that the Indian MEA&nbsp;had offered after protests erupted in Nepal against the mural.</p>

<p>But for “further clarification”, the government has asked the mission in Delhi to contact India’s foreign ministry, he added.</p>

<p>“What we have learnt is that India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said that this is a map of the Ashoka Empire, 300 years before the birth of Christ. It includes a map of the area at that time and a mural. The mural depicts the journey of people. There may be cultural similarities, but it has nothing to do with politics,” Alam was quoted as saying in local media.</p>

<p>The minister was referring to the statement provided by&nbsp;MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi during a recent press briefing.</p>

<p>“The mural in question depicts the spread of the Ashokan empire and the idea of responsible and people-oriented governance that he adopted and propagated. That’s what the mural and the plaque in front of the mural says. And I really don’t have anything further to add to that,” Bagchi had said.</p>

<p>Bangladesh is the third South Asian country that has raised objections to the mural that seemingly depicts India’s expanding boundaries across the sub-continent.</p>

<p>Pakistan was the first to raise the issue, followed by Nepal when its Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' came to India on a four-day visit.</p>

<p>'Akhand Bharat', which means ‘Undivided India’, was a concept espoused by Hindutva nationalists envisaging that neighbouring countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka would become a part of India. The concept seeks to recall the glorious past of undivided India, when past empires used to extend to much of geographical regions that are currently independent nations in South Asia and Southeast Asia.</p>

<h2><strong>Rumblings in Bangladesh</strong></h2>

<p>Even though Bangladesh’s ruling establishment has sought clarification, the opposition parties seem to have taken umbrage at the mural saying that it threatens the country’s sovereignty.</p>

<p>According to the Prothom Alo newspaper, almost all parties except the ruling Awami league have spoken about the mural openly.</p>

<p>“There has been sharp reaction and debate in Bangladesh’s political circles over the map of ‘Akhand Bharat’ (Undivided India) that is on display in the form of a mural at India’s new Parliament building,” the daily reported.</p>

<p>Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the BNP secretary-general, was quoted by the newspaper as saying: “Displaying Bangladesh as part of the undivided map of any other country is a threat to the country’s independence and sovereignty.”</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>

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After Nepal and Pakistan, now Bangladesh has sought explanation on the ‘Akhand Bharat’ [undivided India] mural that has been installed in the new Indian Parliament building.

After Nepal and Pakistan, now Bangladesh has sought explanation on the ‘Akhand Bharat’ [undivided India] mural that has been installed in the new Indian Parliament building. Bangladesh’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said that he has “instructed” the Bangladesh Embassy in Delhi on Monday to contact India’s Ministry of External Affairs to “get India’s official explanation on this matter”. However, he said that there was “no reason to express doubts” about the explanation that the Indian MEA had offered after protests erupted in Nepal against the mural. But for “further clarification”, the government has asked the mission in Delhi to contact India’s foreign ministry, he added. “What we have learnt is that India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said that this is a map of the Ashoka Empire, 300 years before the birth of Christ. It includes a map of the area at that time and a mural. The mural depicts the journey of people. There may be cultural similarities, but it has nothing to do with politics,” Alam was quoted as saying in local media. The minister was referring to the statement provided by MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi during a recent press briefing. “The mural in question depicts the spread of the Ashokan empire and the idea of responsible and people-oriented governance that he adopted and propagated. That’s what the mural and the plaque in front of the mural says. And I really don’t have anything further to add to that,” Bagchi had said. Bangladesh is the third South Asian country that has raised objections to the mural that seemingly depicts India’s expanding boundaries across the sub-continent. Pakistan was the first to raise the issue, followed by Nepal when its Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' came to India on a four-day visit. 'Akhand Bharat', which means ‘Undivided India’, was a concept espoused by Hindutva nationalists envisaging that neighbouring countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka would become a part of India. The concept seeks to recall the glorious past of undivided India, when past empires used to extend to much of geographical regions that are currently independent nations in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Rumblings in Bangladesh Even though Bangladesh’s ruling establishment has sought clarification, the opposition parties seem to have taken umbrage at the mural saying that it threatens the country’s sovereignty. According to the Prothom Alo newspaper, almost all parties except the ruling Awami league have spoken about the mural openly. “There has been sharp reaction and debate in Bangladesh’s political circles over the map of ‘Akhand Bharat’ (Undivided India) that is on display in the form of a mural at India’s new Parliament building,” the daily reported. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the BNP secretary-general, was quoted by the newspaper as saying: “Displaying Bangladesh as part of the undivided map of any other country is a threat to the country’s independence and sovereignty.” (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Now, Bangladesh seeks clarification on ‘Akhand Bharat’ mural in new Indian Parliament

<p>It happened to me for the second time. The realisation occurred slowly but it embraced me fully. Last time around when I went to South Africa with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2013 to cover BRICS summit, my excitement was shooting through the roof. The journey had given me an opportunity to see, smell and feel places associated with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. My excitement knew no bounds.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
I must have marvelled 100 times on board the special plane<strong> </strong>as to how would I feel at the station where Gandhi was thrown out of the train onto the pavement because of the colour of his skin. I was excited about going to the ashram in Durban. I also had the repressed feeling of meeting grateful black men and women with a thanking smile plastered on their faces. I also felt that as an Indian, I would be able to renew a historical association at an individual level as reportage was slowly turning into a pilgrimage.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
The excitement which I was barely able to contain ebbed away within minutes me stepping out of the car and getting inside the station. It was empty. It remained empty. It dawned on me that this place was no marker of anything politically significant in contemporary South Africa.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
The Gandhi South Africa narrative which I read in books didn&rsquo;t exist when interacted with people. Four years down the line African universities went through the wave of protest against Gandhi on grounds of being racist.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
In Myanmar, I was stuck with a similar feeling about cultural connections and shared the colonial experience but again, the opposite awaited me. Within 24 hours of landing, the imagery of the famous song from the film Patanga, released in 1949 and sung by C Ravichandran and Shamshad Begum, Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon Wahan Se Kiya Hai Telephone (My lover has gone to Rangoon and has called me from there), vanished from my head.&nbsp;</p>

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<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>Till date, Myanmar&rsquo;s government has not acknowledged the official headquarters of the Azad Hind Fauj of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Till date, Myanmar?s government has not acknowledged the official headquarters of the Azad Hind Fauj of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose." target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
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<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
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<p>Till date, Myanmar&rsquo;s government has not acknowledged the official headquarters of the Azad Hind Fauj of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. In the past, the government has razed down a couple of quarter he lived in. Locals told me that the place where Rabindranath Tagore stayed is not in a good condition either. Despite the cultural connect, a disconnect is evident. The same can be said of Nepal where we share the religion.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
All of this brings me to one conclusion that relationship between nations needs to be watered regularly which is based on active and current needs.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
The lesson that I drew from this experience is that, what one considers to be&nbsp;important is not necessarily done so by the other country. I also realised that nation-states always recreate their own histories where they keep themselves at the centre, whereas view from outside remains marginal or tangential.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Why should an average Myanmaris feel strongly about Bal Gangadhar Tilak being imprisoned in Mandalay for 6 years? Indian political establishment must realise that there is a limit to the politics of connecting as hard-nosed diplomacy works better than connects.</p>

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<h5>PM Modi&rsquo;s decision to not to mention Rohingya or de-hyphenation of Ramallah from Jerusalem will bring much better results than cultural closeness.</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=PM Modi?s decision to not to mention Rohingya or de-hyphenation of Ramallah from Jerusalem will bring much better results than cultural closeness." target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
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<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
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<p>PM Modi&rsquo;s decision to not to mention Rohingya or de-hyphenation of Ramallah from Jerusalem will bring much better results than cultural closeness. &nbsp;Political use of India&#39;s cultural history, in my opinion, should be a move targetted at the domestic audience which feels elated at the sense of Indian contribution to the world.</p>

<p>But there is no alternative to quid pro quo.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Whether it is Nepal, Sri Lanka or Myanmar what works in a diplomatic relationship is what I can take and what you can give me. The moralist may say that it divorces morality from the political ambit but I believe that morality must be judged from the consequence of a political action and shouldn&rsquo;t become the sole axis on which diplomacy be conducted.</p>

<p>The current curve in the Indian diplomacy must continue to dominate lest we ourselves become the victims of West&rsquo;s idea of &ldquo;human right politics&rdquo; and our bloated sense of cultural contribution which to me is deep nostalgia because the world is not interested in it.</p>


Morality must be judged from the consequence of a political action and shouldn?t become the sole axis on which diplomacy be conducted.

It happened to me for the second time. The realisation occurred slowly but it embraced me fully. Last time around when I went to South Africa with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2013 to cover BRICS summit, my excitement was shooting through the roof. The journey had given me an opportunity to see, smell and feel places associated with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. My excitement knew no bounds. I must have marvelled 100 times on board the special plane as to how would I feel at the station where Gandhi was thrown out of the train onto the pavement because of the colour of his skin. I was excited about going to the ashram in Durban. I also had the repressed feeling of meeting grateful black men and women with a thanking smile plastered on their faces. I also felt that as an Indian, I would be able to renew a historical association at an individual level as reportage was slowly turning into a pilgrimage. The excitement which I was barely able to contain ebbed away within minutes me stepping out of the car and getting inside the station. It was empty. It remained empty. It dawned on me that this place was no marker of anything politically significant in contemporary South Africa. The Gandhi South Africa narrative which I read in books didn’t exist when interacted with people. Four years down the line African universities went through the wave of protest against Gandhi on grounds of being racist. In Myanmar, I was stuck with a similar feeling about cultural connections and shared the colonial experience but again, the opposite awaited me. Within 24 hours of landing, the imagery of the famous song from the film Patanga, released in 1949 and sung by C Ravichandran and Shamshad Begum, Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon Wahan Se Kiya Hai Telephone (My lover has gone to Rangoon and has called me from there), vanished from my head. Till date, Myanmar’s government has not acknowledged the official headquarters of the Azad Hind Fauj of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. × Till date, Myanmar’s government has not acknowledged the official headquarters of the Azad Hind Fauj of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. In the past, the government has razed down a couple of quarter he lived in. Locals told me that the place where Rabindranath Tagore stayed is not in a good condition either. Despite the cultural connect, a disconnect is evident. The same can be said of Nepal where we share the religion. All of this brings me to one conclusion that relationship between nations needs to be watered regularly which is based on active and current needs. The lesson that I drew from this experience is that, what one considers to be important is not necessarily done so by the other country. I also realised that nation-states always recreate their own histories where they keep themselves at the centre, whereas view from outside remains marginal or tangential. Why should an average Myanmaris feel strongly about Bal Gangadhar Tilak being imprisoned in Mandalay for 6 years? Indian political establishment must realise that there is a limit to the politics of connecting as hard-nosed diplomacy works better than connects. PM Modi’s decision to not to mention Rohingya or de-hyphenation of Ramallah from Jerusalem will bring much better results than cultural closeness. × PM Modi’s decision to not to mention Rohingya or de-hyphenation of Ramallah from Jerusalem will bring much better results than cultural closeness. Political use of India's cultural history, in my opinion, should be a move targetted at the domestic audience which feels elated at the sense of Indian contribution to the world. But there is no alternative to quid pro quo. Whether it is Nepal, Sri Lanka or Myanmar what works in a diplomatic relationship is what I can take and what you can give me. The moralist may say that it divorces morality from the political ambit but I believe that morality must be judged from the consequence of a political action and shouldn’t become the sole axis on which diplomacy be conducted. The current curve in the Indian diplomacy must continue to dominate lest we ourselves become the victims of West’s idea of “human right politics” and our bloated sense of cultural contribution which to me is deep nostalgia because the world is not interested in it.

A lesson from Myanmar: Why India can't be the victim of West's idea of 'human right politics'

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Now, Bangladesh seeks clarification on ‘Akhand Bharat’ mural in new Indian Parliament

A lesson from Myanmar: Why India can't be the victim of West's idea of 'human right politics'