Precisely the frescoes, specially commissioned for the new building of the Indian Parliament, were unveiled with great fanfare by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in late May.
It shows the expansion of the Mauryan empire under Emperor Ashoka, in the 3rd century BC. A glorious moment in Indian history since this emperor, a contemporary of Alexander the Great, united the subcontinent under his rule.
An emperor famous for embracing Buddhism and ruling his empire non-violently. At that time, however, this map included all of India’s current neighbors: Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka and even the Maldives.
In fact, the real concern came from the Minister for Relations with the Indian Parliament, Mr Pralhad Joshi, who took a photo in front of this map before posting it on social networks with the words: “the goal is clear: Akhand Bharat”.
However, “Akhand Bharat, who wanted a “united India”, was the concept used by ultranationalists to signify their ultimate desire to create a united Greater India including all its neighbors behind the banner of Hinduism.
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Provocation
Official provocation and more: it was the minister in office who made this card say something other than what it was intended for. That’s why the countries concerned reacted immediately, also officially.
Starting from Bangladesh which asked its diplomats in India to ask for an explanation. But the country that reacted the most was Nepal and for a very symbolic reason: The famous map includes the Lumbini monastery!
That is, the birthplace of Buddha in Nepal. This is all the more damaging as relations between the two nations appear to be on the right track since the visit of Nepal’s Prime Minister of India to India last week.
Tensions between the two countries
Always a card story! Three and a half years ago, India published a map including the disputed area since the 19th century between Kathmandu and New Delhi. Almost 370km2, that is 0.25% of Nepal’s area, but the provocation is too much!
Soon, the Parliament of Nepal promised to publish its own official map, including the area in question. Since then, it has taken a great deal of diplomacy to find a path to dialogue. And wham, now everything has to redo!
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