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‘Akhand Bharat’ Mural in India’s New Parliament Stokes Row in Nepal Before Prachanda's Visit

© Photo : Government of IndiaIndia's new Parliament House building
India's new Parliament House building - Sputnik India, 1920, 31.05.2023
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Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kumar Dahal Prachanda departed for India on Wednesday on his maiden foreign visit since coming to power last year. Prachanda is scheduled to hold “wide-ranging” talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi
A mural in India’s new parliament which depicts territories of Nepal as part of the larger geographical and cultural concept of ‘Akhand Bharat’ (undivided India) has stoked a political controversy in the landlocked Himalayan country.
The row erupted as its Prime Minister Pushpa Kumar Dahal ‘Prachanda’ embarked for New Delhi on his maiden foreign visit.

What is Akhand Bharat?

‘Akhand Bharat’ is a geographical and cultural concept espoused by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The construct views Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar among others as part of an undivided India.
While RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said last year that ‘Akhand Bharat’ would become a “reality” in the next 20-25 years, the organization has increasingly looked at the question only from a cultural perspective to signify Indian civilization’s historic influence in the neighboring regions.
In the context of Nepal, the parliamentary mural depicts the territories of Lumbini and Kapilavastu in modern-day Nepal as part of ‘Akhand Bharat’. Lumbini is the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.

Tweeting a picture of the mural this week, Indian Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi remarked that the “resolve is clear”.

© Photo : Twitter/ @JoshiPralhad‘Akhand Bharat’ Mural in India’s New Parliament
‘Akhand Bharat’ Mural in India’s New Parliament - Sputnik India, 1920, 31.05.2023
‘Akhand Bharat’ Mural in India’s New Parliament

Nepal’s Ex-PM Urges Prachanda to Raise Issue With India

Nepal’s former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, who heads the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), has urged Prachanda to take up the matter with the Indian leadership during the visit.
“If a country like India that sees itself as an ancient and strong country and as a model of democracy puts Nepali territories in its map and hangs the map in Parliament, it cannot be called fair,” Oli told reporters on Tuesday, as per local reports.
Oli has demanded that the mural be removed from the new parliament building, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on May 28.
As per reports, Prachanda has “assured” Nepalese lawmakers that he would raise the issue with the Indian side.
Under Oli’s leadership in 2020, the Nepalese Parliament approved a new country map which showed several territories controlled by India as part of Nepal.
The parliamentary vote came after Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a new road to the Hindu pilgrim site of Kailash Mansarovar (in Tibet Autonomous Region) which passes through the disputed regions.
At the time, the Indian Foreign Ministry described Nepal’s new map as an instance of “cartographic assertion” and said that the territories in question have historically been part of India.
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