'Pakistan doesn't have power to understand': S Jaishankar on row over Akhand Bharat mural in new Parliament

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday defended the mural depicting the idea of 'Akhand Bharat' in the new Parliament building and said Pakistan does not have the power to understand it.

The newly-built Parliament building has a mural that shows the map of ancient India. The mural depicts an undivided India (Akhand Bharat) whose geographical area includes present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and India.

Soon after the Parliament was inaugurated, controversy erupted in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Islamabad was appalled by the statements made by some BJP politicians including a Union Minister, linking the mural with "Akhand Bharat".

She said the claim of 'Akhand Bharat' showed the expansionist mindset of the people of India, which wanted 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 added.

Reacting to Pakistan's criticism, Jaishankar said, "The mural of undivided India shows the spread of the Ashoka empire and the idea of responsible and people-oriented governance. Pakistan cannot understand it because it does not have the power to understand." He said the neighbouring countries will understand the meaning of the mural.

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Former Prime Minister of Nepal Babura M Bhattarai said the Akhand Bharat mural in the new Parliament building was controversial, unnecessary "and harmful to the diplomatic strategies between neighboring countries, including Nepal".

Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, who recently visited India, on Wednesday said that he raised the issue relating to the ‘Akhanda Bharat' map and the Indian side clarified that it was a cultural map and not a political one. Prachanda said this in Parliament when the opposition lawmakers slammed him for not raising the issue of 'Akhanda Bharat' map, which they claimed also consisted of Nepal's territory.

"While talking about the map during my India visit, the Indian side said it was a cultural map, not a political one. Further study should be carried out on the issue,” he said.

While the mural triggered controversy in the neighbouring countries, many claimed it represented the resolve for an Akhand Bharat, described as a "cultural concept" by the RSS.

The Karnataka BJP recently shared photographs of the artworks inside the new Parliament, including the murals of ancient India, Chanakya, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and B R Ambedkar, and the cultural diversity of the country. "It is a symbol of the vitality of our proud great civilisation," the party said on its Twitter handle.

"Akhand Bharat in New Parliament. It represents our powerful & self-reliant India," Manoj Kotak, Lok Sabha member from Mumbai North-East, said on Twitter.

(With inputs from PTI)

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