Why does a mural in India anger neighboring countries?

The entire mural is a map of India from time immemorial, whose territory extends beyond today's borders, including swaths of what is now Pakistan to the north as well as Bangladesh and Nepal to the east, CNN reports.

Speaking to reporters in early June, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said the painting depicts the ancient Ashoka Empire and symbolizes "the idea of ​​responsible and people-oriented governance that (King Ashoka) practiced and propagated".

But for some politicians from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the picture seems to represent a vision of the future. That vision is “Akhand Bharat”, or “Undivided India” whose territory is the union of present-day India with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

“The determination is very clear. Akhand Bharat," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi wrote on Twitter, with a photo of the map. “Akhand Bharat in the new parliament (building). It represents our strong and self-reliant India," BJP lawmaker Manoj Kotak wrote on Twitter.

For India's neighbors, "Akhand Bharat" is a provocative neo-imperial concept that has long been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing organization with great influence on the BJP. RSS believes in "Hindutva", the ideology that India should become "the home of the Hindus".

Earlier this month, Pakistan said it was "shocked by the claims" about the mural. "The gratuitous assertion of 'Akhand Bharat' is a manifestation of revisionist thinking and expansionism that seeks to subjugate the identity and culture not only of the countries surrounding India but also of religious minorities within India itself," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.

Nepali politicians have also spoken out. "If a country like India - which considers itself an old and powerful country and a model of democracy - puts the territories of Nepal on its map and hangs that map in parliament, then it cannot be called fair," the newspaper said. The Kathmandu Post quoted opposition leader KP Sharma Oli.

Former Prime Minister of Nepal Baburam Bhattarai warned the map could cause "unnecessary and harmful diplomatic tension".

And last week, Bangladesh asked New Delhi to clarify the situation. “Anger is being expressed from different areas because of the map,” said Shahriar Alam, an official in charge of foreign affairs.

In response to the backlash, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said last week that the matter had been clarified by India and that it was "not a political matter," according to CNN.

While India dismisses the concerns of its neighbours, analysts say calls by BJP politicians to show support for "Akhand Bharat" are dangerous. Such calls, they say, encourage extremist groups and are bad news for a constitutionally secular democracy, where about 80 percent of its 1,4 billion people are Hindu and 14 percent Muslim.

The mural was not the only thing that caught the eye when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the new parliament headquarters on May 28.5.

The ceremony itself is similarly controversial as it is filled with Hindu symbols. The event also took place on the birthday of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who is considered by many to have developed the "Hindutva" ideology and was one of the first proponents of "Akhand Bharat". Critics say it is wrong to honor his birthday because of his stance towards Muslims.