‘Akhand Bharat’ Mural Should Be in a Museum Not in Parliament
A mural installed at the newly inaugurated Parliament building in India has created ripples among some of India’s neighbours, including Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, which could lead to an avoidable diplomatic frisson in the region. The mural depicts India as a unified region that encompasses areas that are now independent sovereign states into one “undivided” India or Akhand Bharat. The mural is a historical depiction of the region that was once believed to be ruled by Emperor Ashoka from circa 268 to 232 BCE, or nearly 2300 years ago. Then, Ashoka, the third Mauryan emperor, is said to have reigned over a region that included modern-day India and areas that are now Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.
The Hindu right-wing names that “so-called” undivided India, Akhand Bharat, and over the years, particularly before Independence in 1947, many ideologues were of the opinion that a region resembling the map depicted on that mural should be the rightful territory of India.
The installation of the mural has led to controversy. First, various voices from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have sought to resurrect the concept of Akhand Bharat as a cherished goal for India in what could appear to be an imperialistic aspiration. Second, India’s neighbours such as Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, have criticised the depiction of the mural and its installation in the highest legislature of the country. Unsurprisingly, they do not want to be showcased as being part of a “unified India”.
The map shown in the mural is ancient and like all historical artifacts it is of huge significance and a part of India’s heritage. But does it belong in Parliament? It is the Constitution of India that provides for a bicameral Parliament, which in turn is the highest legislature of the country and one that is meant to uphold the principles of the Constitution. Depicting a bygone era’s map that purportedly shows an empire that is no longer relevant (except for its historical value) in the building housing India’s highest legislature can seem like a brazen act of bullying India’s weaker neighbours, which are all relatively small in comparison.
Instead, if that Akhand Bharat map, replete with all its historical significance, was ensconced in a museum, it is likely that India’s neighbouring countries, now depicted as part of a wishful dream in a mural in Parliament, would not have bothered much. It’s ancient history. It belongs to a museum.
Indians’ trust in media is declining as they consume less news
More bad news for Indian media. Just 38% of Indians trust the news that is offered by TV, print, online, and social media platforms. That means more than 60% of Indians do not trust the news that they are exposed to. What is more, Indians’ interest in news is falling and so are the revenues at the prominent media outlets. Worse, India’s standing in the global rankings of press freedom and journalists’ freedom continues to decline.
According to the annual Digital News Report for 2023 by the Reuters Institute for Study of Journalism (RISJ), headquartered at Oxford University, “India slipped to its worst position on record in the Press Freedom Index this year (161 out of 180 countries), published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).”
The Reuters report predictably also finds that more Indians are accessing news online rather than through traditional platforms such as print. However, across different sources of news, the report finds that consumption and sharing of news have steeply declined. Access to online news has fallen 12% from last year, especially through social media, which recorded an 11% fall. Television has also seen a 10% fall. The report suggests that this may be partly because of the lessening impact of the pandemic after lockdown restrictions were withdrawn in April 2022.
The other trend noted by the report is the rise in audiences for “digital-born” brands. While these such as the independent bilingual NewsClick as well as those owned by older media groups such as Catch News (owned by the Patrika group) are still not comparable to the reach of legacy media entities, they are seen to be carving out “dedicated and engaged audiences”.
The one problem with the survey as far as India is concerned is its sample size. For a population of more than 1.4 billion (with an estimated internet penetration of 60%), the sample size for the Reuters’ survey was just 2,016 respondents. As a comparison, Finland with a population of 5.5 million (a borough of Delhi would have more people) had a sample size of 2,027 people; the UK with a population of 69 million had a sample size of 2,107; and the US with a population of 331 million had a sample size of 2,081.
The report, however, states in its methodology section that the “data from India, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa are representative of younger English speakers and not the national population because it is not possible to reach other groups in a representative way using an online survey.” The survey was done mostly in English in these markets, and, therefore, the findings ought not to be taken as nationally representative.
Even so, the key findings–declining consumption of news, less trust in media, and pressures on freedom of the press–are all signals that all is not well for the media in India.
India’s diaspora is bigger and more influential than any other
Some of the world’s biggest global corporations and many of its most powerful ones are today headed by people who were either born in India or have Indian origins. Google, Microsoft, the World Bank, IBM, Adobe, Chanel, and even Britain, where the government is headed by Rishi Sunak, all have Indians at the helm.
India’s diaspora–the global community of people with Indian origins or migrants from India–is today the largest. According to the Economist, of the 281 million people in the world that are classified as migrants, Indians account for 18 million. In comparison, China whose population India has recently surpassed, has 10.5 million, and Mexico 11.2 million.
Numbers apart, migrant Indians have been more successful, influential, and powerful than say migrants from other countries. Besides the top jobs at giant multinationals, surveys show that the Indian diaspora tends to be better educated and richer than other migrants.
In countries such as the US, they have also exerted their influence to raise the image of their home country. The Indian lobby in Congress and in the states in the US has significant clout. This is also something that rubs off on the Indian government and its standing in the world. Although the exact numbers are not easily available, funding and other resources that non-resident Indians and overseas citizens of India poured in during the elections of 2009 and 2014 are believed to be significant, much of that coming in to support the Narendra Modi-led BJP campaign.
The kind of welcome that Modi has received in the past and continues to do when he visits foreign countries such as the US, UK, and Australia, is massive and unparalleled by what happens when leaders of, say, China or Mexico travel abroad.’
This is symbolic of a cachet of the potential soft power of the Indian diaspora. Modi and his regime are more than aware of this and he has leveraged it systematically on his foreign tours. On June 21, Modi will be visiting the US again, Besides his official engagements with US President Joe Biden and an address to the joint session of the US Congress, he will also engage with gatherings of the diaspora, which have in the past been elaborate extravaganzas where the power of the Indian migrant is showcased. On this visit, you can expect the same.
China & India’s row over journos
Earlier this month, China asked the last remaining Indian journalist to leave the country. The forced exit of the journalist from the news agency, Press Trust of India, will leave China with no Indian journalist. Indian news outlets had four journalists in Beijing. Over the course of the past month, every one of them has been asked to leave the country.
The same thing has happened on the other side. India has rejected visas for Chinese journalists intending to work in the country and by the end of the month there will be none in India.
The tit-for-tat action is a consequence of the growing tension between China and India, particularly over the border dispute that has been simmering on the northeastern perimeters of India. Both sides accuse each other of transgressing into territories that each claim is theirs. Until that is resolved, it is unlikely that the two countries’ relations regarding other aspects will improve.
India bans a documentary… again
The Allahabad High Court in India has disallowed the news agency Al Jazeera from broadcasting an investigative documentary film on hate crimes against Muslims by the Hindu majoritarian groups in the country. The court decided that the film, “India… Who Lit the Fuse?” could lead to “evil consequences”.
According to Al Jazeera, “India … Who Lit the Fuse? is part of its Point Blank investigation series. Backed by testimony and documents, it uncovers the activities of Hindu supremacist outfits, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the far-right ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)”.
Earlier, India had banned the BBC’s two-part documentary titled The Modi Question, which investigated Narendra Modi’srole in the Gujarat riots of 2002 when he was chief minister of that state. The Indian government had described the documentary as “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage” with a “colonial mindset”.
Read More: lokmarg.com
WHAT IS THIS AKHAND BHARAT ? OF CHANDRA GUPTA MAURYA OR ASHOKA ? IT IS ALL BULL SHIT AND IT IS NOT A HINDOO EMPIRE !
WHO WAS MAURYA ? HE WAS AN ILLIEGITIMATE CHILD FOUND LOITERING BY A BRAHMIN. HIS MOTHER WAS A SUDRA ! SO HE HE WAS SON OF “MURA” (A MAID OF DHANANANDA) AND SO MAURYA ! HE “USURPED” THE KINGDOM OF DHANANANDA AND THUS ACQUIRED HIS EMPIRE ! HE DID NOT BUILD AN EMMIRE ! JUST LIKE CHAIWALA BETRAYED VAYPAYEE AND ADVANI TO HIJACK BJP (AND THE ORIGINS OF CHAIWALA)!
THIS BANIA “TOOK ADVANTAGE” OF THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER AND THE INABILITY OF SELECUS TO HANDLE PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN – TO THUS,ACQUIRE THE REGIONS OF PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN ! THERE WAS NO GREAT WAR OR BATTLE ! HE WAS A USURPER, MURDERER AND AN OPPORTUNIST ! NO WARRIOR KING !
AND HE WAS NO HINDOOOOO ! HE DIED A JAIN BY STARVATION ! Y DID HE NOT ADOPT HINDOOISM OF CHANAKYA ? NET -THIS BANIA ACQUIRED AN ARMY AND TOOK ADVANTAGE OF A GREEK COLLAPSE ! THERE WAS NO CRUSHING DEFEAT ON THE GREEKS ! THE GREEKS HAD DECIDED TO EXIT INDIA AND THE NORTH WEST !
IT WAS THE FERCIOUS REBELLION OF THE TRIBES OF PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN -WHICH MADE THE GREEKS LEAVE LANDS TO THE BANIA MAURYA !
IS THIS THE BASIS OF A AKHAND BHARAT ? A HINDOO BHARAT WHOSE KING WAS NOT A HINDOO ? NOTE THAT DHANANANDA EXTERMINATED K-SHAT-RIYAS ! Y ? THIS WAS A PERIOD OF “NO-HINDOOISM”.IS THIS AKHAND BHARAT ?
THE LINEAGE OF AN ILLEGITIMATE BORN OF A NAUTCH GIRL HAS TO BE DOOMED !
THEN COMES BINDUSARA ! THE SON OF BANIA GUPTA MAURYA ! THIS CLOWN AND HIS WIFE WERE AJIVIKAS ! ATHEISTS ! THIS MAN WAS BORN AFTER CHANAKYA POISONED HIS MOTHER,KILLED HER AND THEN CUT OPEN HER DEAD BODY TO TAKE OUT BINDUSARA !
NOTE THAT BANIA MAURYA IS A JAIN,AND HIS SON IS AN ATHEIST ! HE EXPANDED HIS KINGDOM TO THE SOUTH AND WAS DEAD IN 40 YEARS !
THIS IS THE BASIS OF AKHAND BHARAT ? AN ATHEIST ?
THEN COMES ASHOKA THE SON OF BINDUSARA ! FATHER WAS BORN OF A DEAD POSIONED WOMAN ! SON WAS BORN WITH A SEVERE SKIN INFECTION – THORNY SKIN – AND HIDEOUS TO LOOK AT ! NOTE THE TRINITY !
GRANDFATHER BORN OF A SUDRA HARLOT !
FATHER – CUT OUT FROM A DEAD POSIONED WOMAN
SON – HIDEOUSLY GROTESQUE !
I CALL THIS DYSFUNCTIONALITY ! AKHAND BHARAT ?
ASHOKA GREW IN HATE AND SCORN – AND THUS,WAS AN INCARNATE OF CRUELTY AS RECORDED IN ASHOKAVDANA WRITTEN BY BUDDHIST MONKS – CENTURIES “AFTER ASHOKA” -SO WITH NO FEAR OF RETRIBUTION !
ASHOKA KILLED ALL HIS BROTHERS BUT 1,AND SEVERAL MORE, AND SEIZED POWER ! AND GUESS WITH WHOSE HELP ? GREEK MERCENARIES ! THIS MAN WAS MAD AND EVIL ! HIS TALES OF EVIL ARE INNUMERABLE – BUT THOSE IN THE ASHOKA VADANA
– BEHEADED 14000 JAIN MONKS IN A DAY
– OFFERED A GOLD COIN FOR THE HEAD OF A JAIN MONK
– BUILT A TEMPLE OF TORTURE OR HELL ON EARTH – WHERE HE PERSONALLY TORTURED AND KILLED MANY.HUEN TSANG RECORDS SEEING THE SITE 0F THIS TEMPLE, YEARS LATER
NOW WE COME TO THE FRAUDS OF HINDOO HISTORY ! KALINGA WAR ! BUNKUM ! NOT A SINGLE PILLAR RECORDS THE NAME OF THE KING OF KALINGA – IN SUCH A WAR ! Y ? IT IS ALL A LIE ! AS THAT LIE WOULD HAVE BEEN NAILED ! ASHOKA VADANA RECORDS THAT ASHOKA WAS A BUDDHIST “BEFORE” KALINGA !
QED !
NEXT FRAUD ! ASHOKA PILLARS ! THEY HAVE REMORSE FOR KALINGA, BUT NO APOLOGY OR REPENTANCE AND ARE COUCHED AS A MESSAGE TO FUTURE REBELLIOUS TRIBES ! THIS IS NOT THE HAMMURABI CODE !
IT IS A THREAT AND A VICTORY LAMPPOST !
BUT THE ONE GOOD THING IS THAT ASHOKA SHUT DOWN THE BRAHMIN SCUM (WHO ARE RSS). NO RITES, NO FESTIVALS, NO SACRIFICES, NO MUTTERING. NO DIWALI ! THIS IS WRITTEN ON THE PILLARS !
WHICH IS Y ASHOKA IS NOT NAMED AS THE AKHAND BHARAT HERO ! ASHOKA WAS ANTI-HINDU AND ANTI-BRAHMIN !
WHICH IS Y AFTER THE DEATH OF ASHOKA – HIS NAME WAS A BLACK HOLE AS THE BRAHMINS OBLITERATED IT ! THE BRAHMINS ALSO KILLED THE LINEAGE OF ASHOKA AND DESTROYED THE MAURYAS FOREVER !
BEFORE THE DEATH OF ASHOKA – THE GREEKS TOOK BACK PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN AND THE SOUTH KINGS ALSO RECOVERED LAND LOST TO BINDUSARA ! AND IN A FEW YEARS AFTER ASHOKA, KALINGA DESTROYED THE MAURYAN ARMY !
IS THIS AKHAND BHARAT ? SONS OF HARLOTS WITH DYSFUNCTIONALITIES,WHO WERE NOT HINDOOS AND DID ALL THEY COULD TO DESTROY HINDOOS AND HINDOOISM !
AKHAND BHARAT ?
CAREFULLY ANALYSE ASHOKA AND HIS FAMILY ! THIS IS THE TRAIT OF HINDOOS – LIARS,CHEATERS, THIEVES, TRAITORS,VERMIN ! THE TRAVAILS OF A DEFORMED MAN SCORNED AND HATED ALL HIS LIFE -WHO SPONSORED BOODHESM AS HE WANTED TO ERASE HIS EVIL FROM HISTORY – AND IT WAS A MOVE OF GENIUS !
DUMB HINDOOS TODAY THINK ASHOKA CONVERTED AFTER KALINBA AND KNOW NOTHING ELSE !
BU THEN – WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THOSE WHO PRAY TO MONKEYS ?
CHAIWALA IS PROOF THAT HINDOOS CAN BE CONNED INTO BELIEVING ANYTHING ! EXTERMINATE THEM NOW
NOTE THE TREND !
DHANANNANDA EXTERMINATED K-SHIT-RIYAS ! HIS ARMY HAD DALITS AND FOREIGNERS
MAURYA – BECAME A JAIN
BINDUSARA – WAS AN ATHEIST
ASHOKA – A BOODHHEST WHO SHUT DOWN HINDOOISM !
ALL WERE MASS KILLERS ! THIS IS THE DESTINY OF HINDOOS ! EXTERMINATION ! THAT EXPLAINS THE SLAVERY OF 1500 YEARS TO HUNS,MUGHALS AND PORTUGESE AND BRITS !
THEY ARE ARE A RACE OF WEASELS AND COWARDS ! THEY NEVER DEFEATED A FOREIGN ARMY ON FOREIGN LAND OR IN INDIA ! THE VICTORY OVER THE GREEKS WERE OVER SMALL SATRAPS AND THE GREEKS WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED IN THEIR WARS IN PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN !
WHICH IS Y WHEN THE MUGHALS,TURKS,AFGHANS,BRITS,HUNS,PORTUGESE CAME TO INDIA IN FULL FORCE – THEY DESRTROYED THE HINDOOS !
PAKISTANIS AND AFGHANS ARE NOT INDIANS !
THUS,WIPE OUT THE TRIBE OF CHAIWALA ! THE PILLARS OF ASHOKA ARE LIKE THE MONUMENTS AND TOWERS INNAUGRATED BY CHAIWALA – TO ERASE THE GENOCIDE OF CHAIWALA AND THE BJP !
PEOPLE SAY – BRAHMINS HATED ASHOKA AND KILLED HIS LINEAGE AND DESTROYED THE MAURYAS ! Y DID THEY NOT DESTROY THE ASHOKA PILLARS ? COZ NO ONE COULD READ THEM OR KNEW OF THEIR EXISTENCE !!!!!!?
ARE THEY REAL ???????? COULD BRAHMINS WHO DESTROYED BOODHEESM AND MONKS AND NUNS AND STUPAS,HAVE SPARED THE SIGNAGE OF ASHOKA ?
IS IT ALL A GIGANTIC FRAUD – TO BUILD A NATIONAL HERO – WHO WAS ACTUALLY,AT LEAST IN MAJOR PART,A DEFORMED, UGLY,EVIL,CRUEL AND HIDEOUS MAN ? JUST LIKE CHAIWALA !
AKHAND BHARAT ?
o Ambedkar, in his historic speech in Nagpur on October 15, 1956, a day after he had embraced Buddhism, said, “The movement to leave the Hindu religion was taken in hand by us in 1955, when a resolution was made in Yeola. Even though I was born in the Hindu religion, I will not die in the Hindu religion. This oath I made earlier; yesterday, I proved it true. I am happy; I am ecstatic! I have left hell — this is how I feel. I do not want any blind followers. Those who come into the Buddhist religion should come with an understanding; they should consciously accept that religion.”
o When Mahatma Gandhi requested Ambedkar to lend his support to the Temple Entry Bill, but the latter declined. Ambedkar wrote to Gandhi, “I would like to assure the Mahatma that it is not the mere failure of Hindus and Hinduism which has produced in me the feelings of disgust and contempt. I am disgusted with Hindus and Hinduism because I am convinced that they cherish wrong ideals and lead a wrong social life. My quarrel with Hindus and Hinduism is not over the imperfections of their social conduct. It is much more fundamental. It is over their ideals.”
o In response to Mahatma Gandhi’s efforts to reclaim Dalits back into the Hindu fold, Ambedkar said, “A bitter thing cannot be made sweet. The taste of anything can be changed. But poison cannot be changed into nectar.”
o One of the 22 oaths that he took on October 14, 1956, and even asked those who converted like him to take, was: “I thereby reject my old religion, Hinduism, which is detrimental to the prosperity of human kind and which discriminates between man and man and which treats me as inferior.”
o Of the 22 vows of Dr Ambedkar,the top three were:
a) “I shall have no faith in Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh nor shall I worship them.”
b) “I shall have no faith in Rama and Krishna who are believed to be incarnation of God nor shall I worship them.”
c) “I shall have no faith in ‘Gauri’, Ganapati and other gods and goddesses of Hindus nor shall I worship them.”
o Hitting hard AT Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who has acquired elevated status in saffron ecosphere, Dr Ambekdar did not mince any words. He wrote, “If he claims a national home for the Hindu nation, how can he refuse the claim of the Muslim nation for a national home?
o Ambedka wrote in his book, Pakistan or The Partition of India, in Chapter XIII of Part V of the book, “If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt, be the greatest calamity for this country. No matter what the Hindus say. Hinduism is a menace to liberty, equality and fraternity. On that account it is incompatible with democracy. Hindu Raj must be prevented at any cost.”
SHOULD AKHAND BHARAT BE DESTROYED ? dindooohindoo