History of the Akhand Bharat idea, and in the imagination of the RSS https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-culture/history-of-the-akhand-bharat-idea-and-in-the-imagination-of-the-rss-8643236/ Deeptiman Tiwary , Shyamlal Yadav June 3, 2023 Asked what he meant by his tweet, Joshi told The Indian Express on Thursday: “The concept of Akhand Bharat comes from ancient Indian culture. The new Parliament building depicts various facets of Indian culture, representing every region and all its facets.”
Tweet by Pralad Joshi https://twitter.com/JoshiPralhad/status/1662685877209006081
Asked what he meant by his tweet, Joshi told The Indian Express on Thursday: “The concept of Akhand Bharat comes from ancient Indian culture. The new Parliament building depicts various facets of Indian culture, representing every region and all its facets.”
The artwork occupies one of the 16 niches in the Constitutional Foyer of the new Parliament building. Murals in the other niches are dedicated to Indian sages, ancient texts, and the Ramayana; one of them is dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru.
The official description of the mural says: “Between 265 and 238 BC, Ashoka spread the message of Buddhism and got it inscribed at many places”.
The Sangh Parivar has long imagined an Indian nation that existed from the time of the Ramayana, covering the landmass stretching from today’s Afghanistan to Myanmar and Tibet to Sri Lanka. A map titled “Punyabhoomi Bharat” published by the RSS-run Suruchi Prakashan, labels Afghanistan as “Upganathan”, Kabul as “Kubha Nagar”, Peshawar as “Purushpur”, Multan as “Moolsthan”, Tibet as “Trivishtap,” Sri Lanka as “Singhaldweep”, and Myanmar as “Brahmadesh”.
In 2015, RSS leader Ram Madhav, when asked about a map that showed Pakistan and Bangladesh as part of India, told Al Jazeera: “The RSS still believes that one day these parts, which have for historical reasons separated only 60 years ago, will again, through popular goodwill, come together and Akhand Bharat will be created.”
In Good Faith: Why India’s society and politics need both the strength and gentleness of Hanuman https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/why-india-society-politics-need-strength-gentleness-of-hanuman-8639004/
What a conversation outside a temple reveals about the layered connections between faith, identity and political polarisation
This is not a call to look for some golden truth in the middle of two polar extremes. This notion of a “middle” would mean we are still locked in the one-dimensional trap. Nor does it mean that we ignore the importance of electoral politics — even though elections tend to be a binary contest. The challenge lies in cultivating mental spaces which are somewhat free of preconceptions. Then we may have an opportunity to understand what is driving the need to feel strong and even foster spaces where non-aggressive forms of strength and capability can thrive. Only then can compassion and acceptance of the otherness of “others” become a strength rather than being feared as a weakness.
Like the rest of life, mythic images keep changing and being imbued with different meanings. Thus, a contest over which depiction of Hanuman is more “correct” may become just a distraction. What we need is a reaffirmation of the loving and fraternal aspects of devotion. Meeting that young man at the temple showed me these values may be closer to the surface than seems apparent and finding them depends on the tone in which a conversation is initiated.
Vanishing non-AC coaches | Railways organised loot gets bigger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBMhVmPNIjo May 30, 2023
Railway has been systematically reducing sleeper coaches for some time. Now they have officially announced that except for local slow trains there will be only AC coaches. In a country where the opinion makers and opinion builders demand more super fast trains with more facilities the plight of common man goes un noticed. They refuse to believe that there are millions whose life gets affected by a hike of 10 or 20 rupees for essential services.