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.”