[Global Times special correspondent in India and Nepal Cao Chong and Chen Jianyang Global Times reporter Chen Zishuai] Editor's note: At a seminar organized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of Pakistan on August 6, the country's scholar Shujat severely criticized I

[Global Times special correspondent in India and Nepal Cao Chong and Chen Jianyang Global Times reporter Chen Zishuai] Editor’s note: At a seminar organized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of Pakistan on August 6, the country’s scholar Shujat severely criticized India’s “big Bharat” plans evil. This is not the first time that Pakistanis have criticized India’s concept, and Pakistan is not the only country to protest against India’s “Greater Bharat” narrative. Even European and American media such as the American "Foreign Policy" magazine and the French "Le Monde" believe that this narrative is part of the Hindu nationalist ideology and "historical revisionism." So, what exactly is Mahabharata, and why has it caused widespread controversy internationally?

Territorial ambitions vs. cultural concepts

During this year’s Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) elections in India (April 19 to June 1), discussions about the “Bharata” mural in India’s new parliament building resurfaced in Pakistan. According to a report by India's "Economic Times" in May, the controversy caused by the mural highlighted the concerns of India's neighboring countries about their own security. Many journalists and experts in Pakistan believe that the mural shows that India wants to lay claim to the neighboring country's territory. Some Pakistani scholars said that it is necessary for all countries to respond to "India's posture."

In fact, it is not only Pakistan that has strongly opposed the mural. When it was unveiled at the inauguration ceremony of India's new parliament building in May last year, politicians and academics in Nepal and Bangladesh protested against India's approach. According to reports from the "Kathmandu Post" and other media, on May 30, 2023, Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) Oli (current Prime Minister - Editor's Note) called on the then Prime Minister Prachanda, who was planning to visit India, to "ask New Delhi to withdraw Take down this mural” and “right this wrong.” On June 5, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh asked India to provide an explanation regarding the mural. Alamgir, leader of Bangladesh's opposition Nationalist Party, said presenting Bangladesh as part of an "indivisible map" of other countries was a threat to Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty.

So, what is this Mahabharata mural that has caused public outrage? According to reports from the Times of India, French Le Monde and other media, "Maharata" literally means "Indivisible India" and is the so-called "territorial scope" claimed by India under the rule of King Asoka of the Mauryan Dynasty in India in the 3rd century BC. ". India believes that this scope extends from today's Afghanistan to Myanmar, including the territories of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Le Monde said the territory was similar to the borders of areas of India under the British Empire, but for Hindu nationalists it depicted the dream of a "greater India" based on Hindu influence. "Hindustan Times" stated that the "Maharata" mural hanging in India's new parliament building depicts some ancient ruins in Nepal, such as Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha Sakyamuni.

"For decades, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has close ties with India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been promoting the idea of ​​'Greater Bharat'." According to the US "Foreign Policy" magazine, rss August 14, the day before India became an independent country in 1947, is designated as "Indivisible India Day". The organization creates maps and nomenclature of Mahabharata and teaches these to students in the schools it manages. RSS describes the scope of "Maharata" in a textbook, which uses Sanskrit names to refer to the oceans to eliminate the influence of Islamic culture, such as the Bay of Bengal becoming "Sea of ​​Ganges" and the Indian Ocean becoming "India A sea of ​​believers.” A publishing house affiliated with RSS produced a map on which countries such as Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka have been given new names.

"The Times of India" and other media reported that in 1965, the Indian Awami League (the predecessor of the Indian Party) passed a resolution stating that "the 'Greater Bharat' will become a reality by unifying India and Pakistan."During Modi's visit to Pakistan in December 2015, Madhav, the then national general secretary of the Indian Party, said: "RSS still believes that one day (Pakistan and Bangladesh) will come together again through 'people's goodwill' and create a 'greater world' Bharat'." The BJP dissociated itself from this statement at the time. In April 2022, RSS Chairman Bhagwat said at a public rally that India would become "Greater Bharat" in 10 to 15 years. The American "Foreign Policy" magazine stated that this provides the first timetable for the "pipe dream" of Hindu nationalism.

When the "Greater Bharat" mural was "unveiled" in India's new parliament building in May 2023, India's Minister of Parliamentary Affairs wrote on social media: "The determination is very clear - 'Greater Bharat'." Regarding this mural, Pakistan A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at the time that India's relevant ideas were "a manifestation of an expansionist mentality that not only attempts to suppress the ideology and culture of India's neighboring countries, but also attempts to suppress the ideology and culture of India's own religious minorities." After the above-mentioned murals caused dissatisfaction in many countries, a spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that India has "no territorial ambitions" in other parts of South Asia. According to media reports such as the Wire News Network in India, an RSS spokesperson claimed that "Bharata" is a cultural concept, not a political concept.

may be aware that it is impossible to establish a "Greater Bharat" by redrawing national boundaries, so some Indian media and Indian politicians hope to establish a so-called "Cultural Bharat" through cultural connections. For example, the "Times of India" stated that rebuilding "Greater Bharat" is unrealistic, but building an "alliance of like-minded countries" has some chances of success. The media stated that in 2012, Modi, who had not yet become the Prime Minister of India, said that "Greater Bharat" did not mean that India would launch a war against any country. "Without war, it will happen with the consent of the people... We call it It is Sanskrit Bharata (Cultural Bharata)”.

According to the US "Foreign Policy" magazine, the policies formulated by the Modi government increasingly reflect the concept of "Greater Bharat", a political geography that transcends national boundaries. In 2019, India passed the Citizenship Amendment Act, which selectively provides a way for religious minorities (mainly Hindus) from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and other countries to obtain Indian citizenship, but does not include Muslims. India's Home Minister Shah later linked the criteria to the National Register of Citizens, raising concerns among Muslims that they could be stripped of their citizenship. That same year, the Modi government stripped Indian-administered Kashmir of its special status. Modi has also made high-profile visits to Hindu temples in Bangladesh, Nepal and elsewhere, suggesting those countries fall under Hinduism's umbrella.

Source of Indian Prime Minister Modi’s information map: Visual China

“Strong revisionist behavior”

“Foreign Policy” magazine bluntly stated that “Greater Bharat” has long been part of the Hindu nationalist ideology and is inconsistent with the core principles of RSS "Organized unity" is related to "purification". French newspaper Le Monde said of this "revisionist act" that "Maharata" is "an ancient dream of Indian nationalists" and that this view of the country's geography is at the core of Hindu identity.

Xie Chao, associate researcher at the South Asia Research Center of Fudan University, told the Global Times reporter that India’s “Bharat” narrative is essentially an extension of the domestic “Bharat” narrative. As Hindu nationalism becomes the dominant ideology in current Indian society, the BJP needs to think about how to maintain the stock and future incremental mobilization effect of the "Bharat" narrative. Previously, with the help of the mural incident at the completion of the new parliament building, the Indian Party successfully pushed the "Greater Bharat" narrative onto the domestic and international public opinion stage. It is foreseeable that the Indian Party will continue to enhance this set through an upgraded version of the "Bharatana" narrative in the future. The popular mobilization ability of the narrative, by implanting the dream of restoring Hinduism's "history and glory" in Hindus, attracts more people who are still hesitant to the Hindu nationalist narrative, and mobilizes its huge overseas Hindus to maintain the BJP Long-term ruling status layout.

Lin Minwang, deputy director of the South Asian Studies Center at Fudan University, told the Global Times reporter that after the Modi government came to power, its basic philosophy was the typical core philosophy of the Indian Party, that is, "India is the India of Hindus." In this ideological context, they need to re-revise and interpret history. The narrative of "Bharata" mainly deals with two aspects of relationships, one is the relationship with the West, and the other is the relationship with Muslims. The most important part of the Mahabharata narrative is the classification of Muslims and Westerners as "invaders and outsiders" in India.

Das, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at St. “Regarding India as a much older political entity is a powerful act of revisionism”. The American "Foreign Policy" magazine bluntly stated that the fact is that such a country or political system does not exist. The history of South Asia is made up of multiple kingdoms whose rulers came from different races and spoke different languages. Furthermore, most historians believe that even in ancient times, India's territory never included countries such as Bhutan, Burma, Nepal or Sri Lanka. Those areas that were once part of India were never ruled by the same direct leader except during British colonization.

"Foreign Policy" magazine also stated that historically, conflicts in India were not mainly caused by religious conflicts. In the past, Hindu leaders had hired Muslim generals to fight against Muslim rulers and vice versa. The "ideologues" of the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party describe India as "a country that has been ruled by Islam for a long time." They believe that India is a Hindu country and must restore its so-called past glory. This idea of ​​"the glorious Hindu rule being ended by Muslim invaders" was actually a deliberate construct of British colonialism to divide and dominate the region, and the RSS readily accepted it.

"It may lead to violence, displacement and ethnic cleansing"

In addition to sparking protests internationally, the so-called "Greater Bharat" narrative has not always received praise in India.

An owner of a Hindu supplies store told the "Global Times" special correspondent in India that "Maharata" resonates with him emotionally and culturally. The boss believes that what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh are "integral parts of ancient Indian civilization" and that the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 was a traumatic event that tore apart the geographical and cultural fabric of the once largely unified region. A political science student who believes in Hinduism said that as a Hindu, the idea of ​​"Bharata" tugs at his heartstrings. He believes that the Mahabharata narrative stems from a desire to restore the cultural unity that was destroyed by the colonizers. However, the student said that maintaining peace, religious harmony and improving the living standards of all Indians must take precedence over any nationalist ideology and territorial revisionism. "Modern nation-states are based on the principles of self-determination and democracy, so India The sovereignty of other countries must be respected. Forcibly uniting the region under a Hindu nationalist agenda may lead to conflict and bloody unrest.”

“While Hindu nationalists may gloss over this with romantic notions of ancient cultural unity, the reality is that modern nation-states have long transcended this primitive identity.” A Muslim political science student told A special correspondent of the Global Times in India said that the premise for the establishment of "Greater Bharat" is an infringement of the sovereignty of modern nation-states such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. Claiming Hindu supremacy and trying to claim other countries' territories to India would be a highly undemocratic move that could undermine peace and stability in the entire South Asian region. The pursuit of Mahabharata could lead to unthinkable violence, displacement and ethnic cleansing. Any attempt to undermine the hard-won sovereignty and secular democracy of Pakistan and Bangladesh will be a retrograde and intolerable move that will be categorically rejected by the international community.

In addition to establishing "Maharata", another goal of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the RSS is to establish a Hindu state. According to the "Times of India" report, Hindu nationalists have long dreamed of establishing a "Greater India", a country that matches the "size and glory" of ancient India - "Maharata" and the Hindu state. "One of our highest goals is to make our Hindu nation glow with glory and greatness in all its aspects." RSS wrote in its manifesto. In 2017, representatives of 150 Hindu groups met in Goa to discuss plans to establish a Hindu state. However, the media, including the Times of India, warned that establishing a Hindu state would weaken India's national unity, encourage separatist tendencies, cause greater internal conflicts, and stifle India's dream of becoming a "world-leading country."