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Akhand Bharat (transl. Undivided India), also known asAkhand Hindustan, is a term for theirredentist concept of a greaterunified India along with part ofSoutheast Asia.[2][3][4] It asserts that modern-dayAfghanistan,Bangladesh,Bhutan,India,Maldives,Myanmar,Nepal,Pakistan,Sri Lanka, andTibet are one nation.[1][5][6][7]
During theIndian independence movement,Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi advocated forAkhand Hindustan, a proposition thatMahatma Gandhi agreed with, believing that as Britain wanted to retain their empire by pursuing a policy ofdivide and rule,Hindu–Muslim unity could not be achieved as long as the British were there.[8] However, in relation to Myanmar (then Burma), Gandhi felt that it should be separate from India, regarding itsinclusion in British India as a purely British legacy.[9] In addition,Mazhar Ali Khan wrote that "theKhan brothers [were] determined to fight forAkhand Hindustan, and challenged theLeague to fight the issue out before the electorate of the Province."[10] On 7–8 October 1944, in Delhi,Radha Kumud Mukherjee presided over theAkhand Hindustan Leaders' Conference.[11]
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the founder of theHindutva ideology and the leaders of theHindu Mahasabha, at the Hindu Mahasabha's 19th Annual Session inAhmedabad in 1937 propounded the notion of anAkhand Bharat that "must remain one and indivisible," adding "from Kashmir to Rameswaram, from Sindh to Assam." He said that "all citizens who owe undivided loyalty and allegiance to the Indian nation and to the Indian state shall be treated with perfect equality and shall share duties and obligations equally in common, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, and the representation also shall either be on the basis of one man one vote or in proportion to the population in case of separate electorates and public services shall go by merit alone."[12]
The call for creation of theAkhand Bharat orAkhand Hindustan has been raised byHindutva organisations such as theHindu Mahasabha,Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP),Shiv Sena, theMaharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), theHindu Sena,Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS), theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP), among others.[13][14][15][16] One organisation sharing this goal, theAkhand Hindustan Morcha, bears the term in its name.[17]
Pre-1947 maps of India, showing the modern states of Pakistan and Bangladesh as part ofBritish India illustrate the borders of a proto-Akhand Bharat.[15] The creation of anAkhand Bharat is also ideologically linked with the concept ofHindutva (a far-rightHindu nationalist ideology), as well as the ideas ofsangathan (unity) andshuddhi (purification).[16]
The first chapter of theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh textbook for standard VII students at Akhil Bharatiya Sanskrit Gyan Pariksha included a map depicting Pakistan and Bangladesh, which along with post-partition India, were territories that were part of "Akhand Bharat" and a trade union magazine of the same organisation also included Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar.[18]
While the leadership of the right-wingBJP wavers on the issue, the RSS has always been a strong proponent of the idea.[19][20] RSS leader H. V. Seshadri's bookThe Tragic Story of Partition stresses the importance of the concept ofAkhand Bharat.[21] The RSS-affiliated magazineOrganiser often publishes editorials by leaders such as the presentSarsanghachalak,Mohan Bhagwat, espousing the philosophy that onlyAkhand Bharat andsampoorna samaj (united society) can bring "real" freedom to the people of India.[22] The call forIndian reunification has been supported by Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi,[23] and BJP National General SecretaryRam Madhav.[24]
In December 2015, following Modi's diplomatic visit to Lahore, Pakistan, the BJP National SecretaryRam Madhav (in an interview with Al Jazeera's Mehdi Hassan) described that "TheRSS still believes that one day [India, Pakistan and Bangladesh], which have for historical reasons separated only 60 years ago, will again, through popular goodwill, come together andAkhand Bharat will be created."[25] In March 2019, RSS leader Indresh Kumar claimed that Pakistan would reunite with India by 2025, that Indians would settle in and migrate toLahore andLake Mansarovar in Tibet, that an Indian-allied government had been ensured inDhaka, and that a European Union-styleAkhand Bharat would form.[26]
Former Indian Supreme Court JudgeMarkandey Katju advocated in Pakistani newspaperThe Nation that the only solution to the ongoing dispute between India and Pakistan is thereunification of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh under a strong, secular, modern-minded government.[27][28] He expanded on the reasons for his support for a reunified India in an article forNewslaundry;[29] Katju advocated that such a state would be administered by a secular government.[30] Katju serves as the chairman of the Indian Reunification Association (IRA), which seeks to campaign for this cause.[31][32] Former Indian Deputy Prime MinisterL. K. Advani, in April 2004, similarly endorsed aconfederation of the sovereign nations of India and Pakistan as a powerful geopolitical entity rivalling theEuropean Union, United States of America, Russian Federation and People's Republic of China.[33]
Hindutva political groups such asShiv Sena have sought the reclamation ofPakistan-administered Kashmir under the pretence ofAkhand Bharat, especially after theabrogation ofArticle 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution (removing the semi-autonomy ofJammu and Kashmir) in August 2019.[34][35]
On 17 November 2020, the RSS campaigners released a calendar based on the "Akhand Bharat" theme. This calendar was prepared by the province patron of theVishva Hindu Parishad inJaipur.[36]
In 2023, the unveiling of a mural in India'snew parliament building, said to depict a map of theMaurya Empire underAshoka, sparked controversy and criticism from several of India's neighbouring countries. Spokesperson for thePakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, criticised it as a "manifestation of arevisionist andexpansionist mindset", while theBangladeshi junior minister for foreign affairs stated "Anger is being expressed from various quarters over the map."[37] SeveralNepali politicians also expressed concern. While thespokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs,Arindam Bagchi, stated it symbolized "the idea of responsible and people-oriented governance that [Ashoka] adopted and propagated", other politicians in the rulingBharatiya Janata Party declared it a symbol of Akhand Bharat, withMinister of Parliamentary AffairsPralhad Joshi tweeting "The resolve is clear. Akhand Bharat".[37]
The Hindutva discourse believes in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan all being a part ofAkhand Bharat as they are a part of the sacred soil of the Hindu nation with common claims of nationalism.
The ultimate reunification of the subcontinent is a professed goal, as it is for the Mahasabha, but here, too, there is a difference in emphasis which deserves note: for the Sangh, the goal is 'Akhand Bharat', while for the Mahasabha it is 'Akhand Hindustan'.
Those who dub Shri L. K. Advani, the Home Minister of India and others as foreigners, must realise that the freedom struggle was a mass movement of all the people of entire Akhand Hindustan (United Bharat).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Later, K.M. Munishi, with Gandhi's blessing, also resigned from the Congress to plead for Akhand Hindustan as a counter blast to Pakistan. Gandhi, who previously thought that swaraj was impossible without Hindu-Muslim unity, subsequently came to the conclusion that as Britain wanted to retain her empire by pursuing a policy of divide and rule, Hindu-Muslim unity could not be achieved as long as the British were there.
Many months ago, when the Pakistan issue was still in the melting pot, the Khan brothers determined to fight for Akhand Hindustan, and challenged the League to fight the issue out before the electorate of the Province.
On 5 August 1944, he issued a common letter to the leaders of various parties making a proposal to hold Akhand Hindustan Leaders' Conference. Such a conference was held on 7 and 8 October in Delhi. It was presided over by Dr. Radha Kumud Mukherji.
Its members still swear by the ideal of Akhand Hindusthan.
