'Undivided India' map at new parliament: No reason for confusion, Dhaka waiting for official version from Delhi, says Shahriar Alam
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Monday said there is no reason to get confused over the reported map of "undivided India" at the new Indian parliament building – noting that Dhaka is waiting for an official version from Delhi.
"It's nothing to do with politics. There is nothing to get confused about it," he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.
For further clarification, Shahriar Alam said, they have asked Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi to talk to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to get their official explanation.
The state minister said that so far they learnt, the map represents the era of the ancient Indian emperor Ashoka.
The new Indian parliament building is reportedly adorned with a mural of the map of the undivided India.
"What we have known as per from the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of India is that this is a map of the Ashoka Empire and it was three hundred years before the birth of Christ," he said.
"It's a map of the area that existed at the time and it's a 'Mural' that depicts the journey of the people," Shahriar Alam said.
There may be cultural similarities, but it has nothing to do with politics, the state minister added.