A mural in India's new parliament building depicting Pakistan as part of the 'Akhand Bharat' ("undivided India") has prompted the country's Pakistani Foreign Ministry to express anguish, local media reported on Friday.
Speaking over the matter, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Islamabad was "appalled" to see the installation of the mural in India's Parliament, as it features parts of Pakistan.
"We are appalled by the statements made by some BJP politicians, including a union minister, linking the mural with 'Akhand Bharat'", Baloch said in a press conference in Islamabad, adding that this is "a matter of grave concern" that the idea of Akhand Bharat was being "increasingly peddled."
What is Akhand Bharat?
Akhand Bharat is a term used to describe "ancient India", also called as "unified Greater India". According to the concept, parts of modern-day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Maldives formed one country "Akhand Bharat".
Pakistan, however, isn't the first sovereign state to object to the unveiling of the mural in New Delhi: before Islamabad, the parliamentary mural issue made waves in Nepal.
In Kathmandu's context, the historical sites of Kapilavastu and Lumbini are shown as part of "Akhand Bharat". Both these territories in modern-day Nepal are part of the religious circuit related to Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.
While Lumbini is his birthplace, Kapilavastu is an ancient city where he lived till the age of 29 before leaving his royal life to become an ascetic.
After Indian Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi tweeted the picture of the mural, Nepal's ex-PM Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, asked Prime Minister Pushpa Kumar Dahal Prachanda, who is currently on a four-day visit to India, to raise the issue with India's top leadership.
"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 media persons in Kathmandu earlier this week.
After Indian Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi tweeted the picture of the mural, Nepal's ex-PM Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, asked Prime Minister Pushpa Kumar Dahal Prachanda, who is currently on a four-day visit to India, to raise the issue with India's top leadership.
"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 media persons in Kathmandu earlier this week.