"Ashoka's Empire": India On Row Over Mural In New Parliament

The government today dismissed a brewing controversy around a mural in the newly inaugurated Parliament building that has drawn some angry reactions from Nepal's political leaders. The mural - which many BJP leaders claimed represents the resolve for an 'Akhand Bharat' - marks important kingdoms and cities of the past, including Takshashila (presently in Pakistan) and Lumbini (in Nepal).

Two formers Prime Ministers of Nepal - Baburam Bhattarai and KP Sharma Oli - who spotted Kapilvatsu and Lumbini on the mural, warned that it may cause "unnecessary and harmful diplomatic disputes".

"The mural in question depicts the spread of the Ashokan empire. It's people-centric," the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Mr Bhattarai, in a tweet, said, "It has the potential of further aggravating the trust deficit already vitiating the bilateral relations between most of the immediate neighbours of India". Mr Oli was quoted by The Kathmandu Post as stating that the installation of the 'Akhand Bharat' mural in the Indian Parliament "was not fair".

The controversy erupted amid the ongoing visit of Nepal Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal "Prachanda". He arrived in India on Wednesday afternoon on a four-day official visit. On Thursday, the Nepal PM met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi who said India will continue to strive to take the relationship with Nepal to Himalayan heights.

The Foreign Ministry said the "issue was not raised by the Nepalese side".

The mural apparently shows the empire of Ashoka, the third emperor of the Mauryan dynasty, at its peak. At its zenith, Ashoka's empire stretched from Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east. It covered almost the whole Indian subcontinent except Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and modern-day Sri Lanka.

Several BJP leaders, including Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, shared the artwork inside the new Parliament House.

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

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

'Akhand Bharat', described as a "cultural concept" by the RSS, refers to undivided India whose geographical expanse was very wide in ancient times - present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and 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.

The new Parliament building was inaugurated by PM Modi last week (May 28) and said it represents the idea of "Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat".