A recent gesture by Andhra Pradesh BJP’s newly-appointed State President PVN Madhav has sparked an online controversy, with political undertones. After assuming office, Madhav gifted a large framed portrait to AP Minister Nara Lokesh. The portrait, widely circulated on social media, depicts the civilisational and cultural history of Bharat, stretching beyond current political boundaries to include regions such as Tibet, Afghanistan, and Burma—areas considered part of Bharat’s cultural sphere since the Vedic era.
రాష్ట్ర బీజేపీ అధ్యక్షుడిగా నూతనంగా ఎన్నికైన పీవీఎన్ మాధవ్ గారు ఉండవల్లి నివాసంలో మర్యాద పూర్వకంగా కలుసుకున్నారు. ఈ సందర్భంగా మాధవ్ గారిని మంగళగిరి శాలువాతో సత్కరించాను. ప్రతిపక్షంలో ఉండగా శాసనమండలిలో ప్రజాసమస్యలపై కలిసి పోరాడిన సందర్భాన్ని గుర్తుచేసుకున్నాం. మృధుస్వభావిగా… pic.twitter.com/S1HyDnZxjf
— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) July 9, 2025
However, the map soon became the centre of criticism after BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) alleged that the state of Telangana was missing from the map. He posted on X, calling attention to the absence of Telangana’s boundary and implying that this omission was a politically motivated act by the BJP.
Honourable PM @narendramodi ji,
We have fought for generations for our cultural identity, our rightful place in history, and our geographical position – TELANGANA
Today, your Andhra Pradesh state BJP chief; Madhav Garu, has belittled our struggle by gifting a United Andhra… pic.twitter.com/vbFi2t1g2i
— KTR (@KTRBRS) July 10, 2025
A closer examination, however, reveals that the image in question is part of a pre-2014 version of a widely published cultural map of Bharat. At the time of its original printing, Andhra Pradesh was still a unified state, and Telangana had not yet been carved out as a separate state. The map reflects that older configuration. BJP leaders clarified that the intention behind gifting the map was purely cultural—meant to highlight Bharat’s ancient civilisational expanse and not to make a political statement or deny the existence of Telangana.Moreover, such maps celebrating Bharat’s cultural history are displayed in prominent national spaces, including the new Indian Parliament building, where the emphasis is on India’s civilisational continuity and spiritual geography, rather than on current administrative boundaries. In fact, updated versions of the same cultural map that clearly delineate Telangana’s borders alongside other states are available in the public domain.
While the version shared with Nara Lokesh may not reflect the present-day political boundaries post-2014, it would be misleading to interpret this as an intentional slight. Picking on such symbolic gestures for political point-scoring risks diluting the deeper cultural message behind them.
The BJP State President’s gesture, in essence, sought to invoke a sense of historical and cultural unity—something that transcends contemporary political borders. Turning this into a controversy distracts from the larger cultural narrative the map was intended to represent.
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