PrintFriendlyIndia’s vibrant cultural ethos, and civilizational heritage is indeed a blessing to the whole mankind. With the ability to capitalise a country’s inherent cultural strength, there will be an awakening of a nationalist conscience, especially if the political leadership of a country recognises it. Cultural ethos of India has the inherent strength which can ensure the nation’s place in the global bright spot. In the contemporary times, a standout individual in India’s cultural diplomacy is none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has successfully led the country with his astounding popularity, charisma and a divine aura since 2014. In the orientation of Public Policy and Governance, PM Modi has made ‘Viksit Bharat’ (a developed India) as his prime objective to be achieved by 2047.
PM Modi’s new paradigm and broader advocacy is not just limited to political diplomacy, but it also includes India’s economic, scientific, cultural, political and security interests, both on a regional and global scale. With the proactive diplomatic initiatives, PM Modi has developed strategic ties with several countries through constant dialogue between senior leaders, to turn India into a powerful country in solving global problems, which has a strong position in the international community.
Understanding Cultural diplomacy and India’s Context:
Cultural Diplomacy can be described as a course of actions, which are based on the utilization and exchange of ideas, values, traditions and other aspects of culture or identity, whether to strengthen relationships, enhance socio-cultural cooperation, promote national interests and beyond; Cultural diplomacy is an important aspect of a nation’s soft power. The global impact of India’s soft power was felt long before the term found place in popular parlance in the 21st century. The quest for Indian arts, culture and spiritualism have attracted people from across the world for several centuries now. PM Modi has reoriented the Indian diplomacy by combining it with the new elements of soft power. PM Modi Came up with the Paanchajanya framework, which is seen as a counter to Nehruvian Panchasheel policy. It consists of five pillars of soft power. They are;
- Samman (dignity),
- Samvaad (dialogue),
- Samriddhi (shared prosperity),
- Suruksha (regional and global security),
- Sanskriti Evam Sabhayata (Cultural and civilizational links).
With this framework of Paanchajanya, inspired from Chanakya’s Doctrine of Mandala, the Prime Minister showcases has showcased his ambition to elevate India’s status as an emerging global power. This framework places India’s National interest and national security to be of prime importance, while developing mutual respect and dignity towards India. In his convocation address at Banaras Hindu University in 2016, he affirmed the view “In the present age, which can be considered an era of knowledge, our roles and responsibilities have increased. We must emerge as a Vishwa guru, not only to provide a new direction to the world but also to protect our heritage”.
The content of cultural exports from India has been a fine blend of the modern cultural values of the world with ancient traditional values of India (such as yoga, dharmic values, traditional medicine, etc.) in order to create a strong ‘Brand India’ on a global scale. These are interlinked with India’s broader geopolitical and geoeconomic goals.
Indian Diaspora and its inherent strength recognised by PM Modi:
Leveraging the role of Indians abroad is an important communication resource in cultural diplomacy. When talking about the inherent strengths of India, PM Modi often uses the 3 D concept – Democracy, Demography, and Demand. However, his foreign policies and actions increasingly confirm the importance of a fourth D-factor, the Diaspora. This is a strong contributor to India’s increasing influence on a global scale. Modi’s cultural diplomacy combines modern international values with ancient Indian traditions. PM Modi has always affirmed that the overseas Indian community is an important force that strengthens the country by reversing the process of ‘brain drain’. In his speeches, PM Modi consistently praises the Indian diaspora who work hard, shedding their ‘sweat and blood’ contributing to the development of the countries in which they live; This has led to the creation of a positive perception amongst most countries that people of Indian origin are an asset between the two countries, turning into a human factor contributing to tightening bilateral relations with the Indian state.
G20 Summit 2023, a grand success of India’s Cultural Diplomacy.
During India’s G20 presidency, cultural diplomacy fostered better understanding and collaboration among the member countries. Cultural events, exhibitions, and performances organised during G-20 meetings created informal and convivial spaces for discussions and relationship-building.
India is known for its cultural diversity, including languages, traditions, arts, and cuisines. The G-20 presidency served as an opportunity for India to showcase this diversity and promote cross-cultural understanding among the member countries. India’s G20 presidency has also facilitated collaborations between artists, musicians, writers, and filmmakers from different countries, promoting cross-cultural understanding and creative synergy. India’s presidency of the G-20 provided it with a platform to showcase a whole spectrum of Indian culture and India as a premium destination for tourism. It was for the first time G-20 events were hosted in each and every state and union territory of India, providing each of them with the opportunity to showcase the best of their culture. India’s G20 presidency has emerged as a source of national pride, with India demonstrating the richness and diversity of its culture to an international audience and thus projecting its soft power globally.
‘Vasudaiva Kutumbakam’ – The vaccine diplomacy with Indic Ethos;
India’s faith in the philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva kutumbakam’, has been unfettered since time immemorial. This has been adopted by PM Modi to send the message of universal brotherhood to the world. In the contemporary times, the government of India has been lauded by its global counterparts for showing utmost compassion and providing humanitarian aid to the world during the difficult and challenging times of COVID crisis. When the entire world was battling with this unprecedented pandemic, and particularly the west was desperately and cohesively pushing its Pharma Lobby to infiltrate the Indian market, India created a counter wave of humanitarianism. Be it supplying more than 29 crore+ vaccine doses through Vaccine Maitri, providing drugs, test-kits and protective gear worth approx. Rs 100 crore on grant basis, programmes for delivering Covid-related training for healthcare professionals in SAARC countries, or various rescue operations such as Operation Dost in Turkey, Vande Bharat Mission to bring home 3.2 crore Indian nationals stranded overseas during the pandemic and Operation Ganga to evacuate around 22,500 Indian people from Ukraine, Modi government has changed the face of India’s foreign policy.
Yoga Diplomacy; Modi’s first cultural diplomacy pitch.
Yoga diplomacy was perhaps PM Modi’s first attempt at promoting India’s image and charisma. Yoga diplomacy has become a driving force in promoting Indian cultural identity to the world. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on September 27, 2014, PM Modi stated: “Yoga is a priceless traditional gift from us (India) to the world”. He also emphasized the values of Yoga – a traditional Indian practice that helps harmonize the body and mind, bringing about a sense of unity with oneself, with the world, and with nature.
On June 21, 2015, Yoga Day was held at Kartvyapath with 35,985 people from 84 countries participating in practicing 21 yoga poses. At this festival, PM Modi also directly participated in the performance with tens of thousands of people. Yoga sessions are held everywhere in New Delhi, attended by all walks of life. Hence, Two Guinness World Records were awarded for ‘The largest festival of gathering for a yoga session’, and ‘The most countries participating in a yoga session’. Yoga is internationally recognised and its trending especially in the west, as a result of PM Modi’s massive push to embrace Yoga worldwide.
Traditional Medicine Diplomacy (or Ayurvedic Diplomacy);
This is a new pillar of India’s cultural diplomacy. Traditional Indic medicine focuses on prevention rather than cure, promoting a healthy lifestyle with the herbal remedies as a solution. The main aim of Indic medicine is to aid the healing process from its source, and thereby creating a firm shield against falling prey to new diseases. The Ministry of AYUSH is the body established to manage the funding of India’s ancient heritage encompassing A-Ayurveda (traditional medicine), Y-Yoga & Naturopathy (naturopathic therapy), U-Unani (curative in Eastern Europe and South Asia), S-Siddha (an Indian school of practice) and H-Homeopathy (homeopathy). AYUSH has the task of formulating a development strategy to help India’s Ayurveda achieve as high status as traditional Chinese medicine. To promote India’s medicine diplomacy, the Government of India has registered several international patents. It has launched research programs at leading universities in the country and has sent several experts to attend courses on Ayurveda at universities around the world. India has also set up “information networks” in 25 countries to spread awareness about the traditional medicine industry.
Applications of herbal medicines such as aloe vera, turmeric, cosmetics, and food are achievements of India’s traditional medicine. They are now being applied in famous products of big brands, such as Aveda (USA), Lush (UK), etc. Chai (Tea) and its variants which are the set of specialty herbal drink from India, has become popular around the world, available in most coffee shops, even in world-famous beverage brand chains such as Starbucks (USA), Costa (UK), etc., or even in McCafé, specializing in serving drinks for the McDonald’s fast-food chain.
Buddhist Diplomacy of PM Modi:
Buddhist diplomacy has been given the utmost importance by PM Modi. He asserted: “Without Buddhism, this century could not be the century of Asia”. The Prime Minister has used Buddhist diplomacy in developing bilateral and multilateral diplomatic relations with countries around the world, especially with Asian countries – regions with similar cultural traditions and ideological origins. He chose to approach cultural diplomacy through spiritual and philosophical connections. Leveraging the advantage of India being the birthplace of Buddhism, the country must become a pilgrimage destination for the world’s Buddhists.
During his visits to neighbouring countries, PM Modi emphasized Buddhism as a connecting factor, tightening ties between India and other Buddhist countries. For example, with Japan, the Government of India has promoted India and Japan to sign an agreement, in which Banaras and Kyoto become Buddhist cultural heritage cities, committing to joint participation in heritage conservation, modernization, and cooperation in the fields of art, culture, and academia. With neighbouring countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan, India implemented a four-year agenda that includes cooperation, connectivity, culture, and constitution. With countries farther apart geographically, PM Modi chose to build cultural centres to create exchanges and connections for indigenous peoples with Indian cultural traditions and values, such as the Jaffna Cultural Center in Colombo or facilities in Korea.
In addition, in his diplomatic visits, PM Modi also chooses to visit provinces with Buddhist significance, instead of visiting the political headquarters in the capitals. With the re-establishment of Nalanda University – a model research and teaching place for the whole world, the present government aims to create a world class global knowledge centre, rooted in the moorings of Ancient Indian Education models. In the Ancient and medieval times till it’s destruction by Bakhityar Khilji in the end of 12th century, this University attracted Buddhist monks and renowned scholars from countries in the region and from around the world. Presently, Nalanda University has the potential to become a tool for increasing soft power, effective at two levels: for Asia in relation to the West, and for India in relation to Asia. On important Buddhist festivals, the Government must encourage Buddhist tourists across the world to visit India to promote spiritual tourism.
India’s cultural diplomacy has witnessed a massive transformation under the proactive leadership of PM Modi. The Goal of ‘Ek Bharat – Shrest Bharat’ i.e. ‘One India – Great India’ has seen its fruition with the rise of India’s stature abroad. The national Image and brand India has developed an intrinsic value in the world today. There is a sense of pride and confidence in being a ‘dharmic Bhartiya’ and the colonial consciousness Indians had developed from ages has been rapidly wiped out.
( Author is a Research Asoociate at Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation SPMRF New Delhi. Views expressed are personal )