Patna: A video showing the Ashoka pillar on a stone plaque being smashed with stones at the Hazratbal Dargah in Srinagar has set off fierce political reactions, resonating far beyond Kashmir and into Bihar’s charged pre-election climate.
The BJP swiftly condemned the act as an affront to India’s heritage and accused the INDIA alliance of enabling a pattern of “insults” against the nation’s identity. Bihar’s deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary described the incident as “an attack on the soul of India” and linked it with earlier controversies — including insults against the prime minister’s family and inflammatory remarks in Kerala.
“The Ashoka Chakra is the proud legacy of Emperor Ashoka and Bihar,” Samrat said in a statement. “This insult will not be tolerated by either Bihar or the country.”
The vandalism occurred on Friday, coinciding with Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, when large crowds had gathered at the shrine. Witnesses recorded the act on their phones but did not intervene. After the video went viral, police detained 26 individuals.
The BJP has used the incident to intensify attacks on the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal, pressing Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav to break their silence. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi questioned why leaders who claim to represent Bihar were not defending symbols tied to its history.
The timing is significant. With assembly elections approaching in Bihar later this year, the BJP has sought to frame the INDIA alliance as weak on national pride and disconnected from Bihar’s cultural heritage. By invoking Ashoka — the Mauryan emperor who ruled from Pataliputra, now Patna — the party has tied the desecration directly to the state’s identity.
Opposition figures have responded cautiously. Tejashwi Yadav, while criticising the BJP-JDU government’s performance, has avoided direct comment on the Kashmir incident. Congress leaders have accused the BJP of politicising a law and order issue for electoral advantage.
Analysts suggest the episode could become a defining campaign flashpoint, combining symbolism, history and identity politics. The Ashoka pillar, which forms part of India’s national emblem, carries deep resonance in Bihar. Its desecration in Kashmir has offered the BJP a powerful narrative of cultural insult, while putting pressure on the INDIA alliance to articulate its position.
