New Delhi: The inauguration of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple has given a fillip to Hindutva leaders to reassert their dream of creating an “Akhand Bharat”, which they believe is an integrated land patch comprising present-day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Tibet and Maldives.As several Hindutva organisations have begun to talk about the supposed “Akhand Bharat”, the Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Mohan Yadav on Saturday said, “If God wishes, ‘Akhand Bharat’ will be formed again, if not today, then tomorrow; not only up to Sindh or Punjab but even till Afghanistan… we should be able to visit Nankana Sahib (a prominent Sikh pilgrim site in Pakistan’s Punjab province).”Yadav was speaking at a religious function at Bairagarh near Bhopal. He said the Ram Mandir is the first step towards a “Ram Rajya (ideal state)” and a possible recovery from the losses made by India after the partition in 1947 when “India lost Sindh, Punjab was divided, and Pakistan was formed”, The Hindu reported.Yadav added that King Vikramaditya built Lord Ram’s temple but it was a “thorn in the eyes of enemies” who destroyed it. He said that the temple is being reconstructed after a political struggle of 30-32 years. “In fact, for the last 500 years, several generations passed in it (the struggle),” he said.The Hindu reported that earlier this month, Madhya Pradesh’s BJP president V.D. Sharma made a similar speech where he said if given a chance, the saffron party will also change India’s “geography”. Sharma urged people to give the BJP another chance at the Centre to ensure that the saffron flag is hoisted in Lahore and Karachi. “The one who is building a temple in Ayodhya, the one who is building the corridor of Baba Vishwanath, has removed Article 370. Give us another chance, we will show you by changing the geography also,” he said, referring to the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in these developments.Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh has declared a holiday for all schools and colleges and a half-day leave for government employees on January 22 when the Ram Mandir will be inaugurated. The state government has also ordered a complete shutdown of meat shops and slaughterhouses on the day.
