What is Akhand Bharat?

Akhand Bharat (or less threatning Akhand Hindustan) not only includes India, Pakistan and Bangladesh but also Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Myanmar and even Tibet: basically all the lands where Britishers colonized or tried colonizing. This is different from the RSS concept of Hindu Rashtra. However, they indeed want to identify Akhand Bharat with Hindu Rashtra. This becomes evident from the statements of RSS ideologues, who want cultural integration of the Muslims into Akhand Bharat through Muslims’ own intitatives, meaning thereby that Muslims need to compromise their religious ideologies in favor of the majority Hindu ideology.

The concept of Akhand Bharat is not this kind of cultural integration at all. The concept of Akhand Bharat is a proposal to integrate all the erstwhile colonies/suzernaties of the Britishers under a common military umbrella with or without the common government. The princely states were like Nepal and Bhutan. They chose or were forced to join India post-independence, with Kashmir being a special case. Also the tribal areas gained special statuses under the newly drafted Indian Constitution. Therefore, if and when anybody thinks of Akhand Bharat, he will have to first restore the status quo ante  of the pre-independence India; i.e., the princely states will have to be restored — which BJP should welcome given they kept fighting for the rights of Hindu Rajas in Rajputana for a very long time; will they?

Nevertheless, Akhand Bharat is a fantastic idea, albeit without any practical possibility. In the present context, it can only have the effect of spoiling the foreign relations, for it is originating from a pro-Hindutva conservative party. No liberal voice can dare dream of an undivided India now, but, of course, the Hindu conservatives would always do it for obvious reasons.

Why Akhand Bharat is Always a Bad News for Ordinary People?

My problem is, however, different. I think all militaries and intelligence agencies including Indian military are nothing but state-sponsored “terrorist” organizations, who don’t think twice before violating human rights. Though these state militaries often identify other terrorist organizations as national security threats, but the fact remains the capacity of these so-identified terrorist organizations is marginal in front of state militaries. In fact, all such terrorist organizations, with the possible exception of naxals in India, are either the outright creations of states or definitely supported by them.

With economic globalization, the militaries have kind of started collaborating with each other. This is a very bad news for non-elites. With peace in international relations, the focus has now shifted towards harrasing people. They have accumulated abundant capacities and resources, which have to be exploited somewhere. And they are exploiting them in harassing their own citizens. The states are fast turning into totalitarian states irrespective of democracy.

The new age tech entrepreneurs are also doing all things possible to help the growth of totalitarianism. Mobile payments make the financing of rebellion impossible; social media makes secret societies impossible; microblogging makes ideological debates impossible; etc.

In Akhand Bharat, the military of the region, which is already very strong, will become even stronger. In totalitarian states, it is much better for non-elites to live as separated from the militaries as possible. But, of course, no strongly militarised region will allow this leeway.

In an alternative world, I would rather completely dismantle militaries and replace them with Shanti Senas of Gandhians, but such is not possible till the time the proposal for Akhand Bharat originates from Hindutva brigade, not Gandhians. And, as I said, liberals including Gandhians will never propose an Akhand Bharat. So, Akhand Bharat is always a bad news for ordinary people.