A story was reported on June 2 with the headline, ‘Bengal couple accused of being ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’ freed from Bengaluru jail after 10 months.’
The couple were Palash and Shukla Adhikari, who were accused of being foreigners. They spent an extra month in jail after getting bail because they could not produce local sureties.https://thewire.in/south-asia/akhand-bharat-south-asia-politics
Another story, somewhat related, was reported the same day with the headline, ‘Political leaders in Nepal object to ‘Akhand Bharat’ mural in new Parliament’. The story explained that ‘Akhand Bharat’ was a concept espoused by Hindutva nationalists envisaging that neighbouring countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka would become a part of India. Lumbini – the birthplace of the Buddha – is in Nepal but features on the map in the new parliament.
Both of these are again in a way related to something else.
I am writing a book whose title is The Case for Akhand Bharat, which is an attempt to figure out two things.
First, if Indians, especially Hindus of the Bharatiya Janata Party type, really want to unite South Asia, why are they not trying it except in paintings and murals?
Second, what would it take to actually bring about an ‘Akhand Bharat’?
The answer to the first question is easy. The BJP and Hindus who back it do not want a united South Asia. What they want is an empire with subjects. A party ruling India with no Muslim minister or MP or MLA is not going to be attractive to the woman in Chittagong or enthuse the child in Peshawar. What the BJP wants is land, it does not want the people. Look at Kashmir to understand.
It is a reality that the thinking of the Indian elite, as presented to the world in the new parliament, is juvenile and unreal. But it is also a fact that needs to be acknowledged and engaged with.
‘Akhand Bharat’ will not come about through crayons and murals.
by Aakar Patel
06/06/2023