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Sources of India’s Soft Power
As detailed in the previous chapter, soft power has played an increasingly important role in Indian foreign policy in recent years, and there is a growing interest in exploring factors that contribute to this dimension of the country’s potential. However, there is no agreement among scholars when assessing the real strength of India’s soft power. While some consider India as one of the few major soft powers (Tharoor, 2008, 2012; Wagner, 2010; Purushothaman, 2010) others point at serious flaws in this outlook (Lee, 2010c; Mukherjee, 2013). There is also controversy over what constitutes India’s largest asset in this domain.
In order to engage the debate this chapter examines the capacity of India’s soft power to point out the country’s greatest strengths in this area. Discussion of India’s soft power potential follows Nye’s three categories of resources: culture, values, and policies. However, to draw from this concept with specific reference to India, the analysis includes two more elements that appear particularly relevant in this regard. The first is diaspora – a factor that plays a less important role in the case of the US, but which comes to the fore in the case of India. The second is economic potential, which Nye considered a hard power element, but which heavily influences a country’s image and forms the basis for many soft power activities. Combined, these five factors will give a more complete picture of India’s attractiveness.
Cultural Power
Culture seems an obvious asset of India’s soft power – one could argue the most important. Indeed, it has fascinated outsiders since the time of Alexander the Great, bringing invading armies, travelers, merchants, migrants and religious refugees fleeing persecution, explorers, entrepreneurs and, eventually, colonial powers. Indian culture has left a visible mark on many Asian nations and, to a large extent, shaped the Western romantic vision of the Orient as an exotic land of spirituality, wisdom and wealth. India is not only a land of antiquity – home to one of the world’s oldest living civilizations and the birthplace of Hinduism and Buddhism – but also a place of modern advancements, a country equipped with attractive pop culture, from cinema to music, food, and arts, with much to offer the world.
The attractiveness of Indian culture spurs from its longevity and diversity of racial, religious, ethnic, and linguistic groups. From the first indigenous civilization of the Indus Valley, over centuries, India has assimilated various influences – Greek, Arabic, Persian and European. Along with several local religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, India has become home to significant minorities of Muslims, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians. Buddhism is a sizable soft power asset that has expanded India’s influences to the distant parts of Asia in the past. From the plains of the Ganges, where Buddha lived in the 5th century BCE, Buddhism spread in subsequent centuries to nearby countries such as Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia, and continued on to Afghanistan, Tibet, and China, eventually reaching Korea and Japan.
Instrumental in this rapid expansion was Emperor Asoka (of the Mauryan dynasty), who, it is believed, converted to Buddhism after his victory in the bloody battle against the kingdom of Kalinga in the 3rd century BCE. The death and cruelty of war convinced him to turn to non-violence. Instead of sending armies to project his power, he started sending monks to the neighbouring kingdoms with Buddhism’s message of peace. He followed a policy termed “conquest by dharma” (i.e., by the principles of a right life). This transformation may be regarded as one of first examples of a shift from hard to soft power in external relations. Although Emperor Asoka’s kingdom crumbled soon after his death, the Buddhist influence outlived its royal propagator. During the peak of Buddhism in India (around the 6th–8th centuries) India was the center of teaching and philosophical thought. The famous Buddhist University in Nalanda (located in today’s state of Bihar) was one of greatest in the ancient world, and land attracted students and scholars from all across Asia. Therefore, it is rightly argued, “Buddhism was the biggest project of dissemination of Indian ideas” (Thussu, 2013: p.10).
Along with Buddhism, Hinduism also spread to other places in Southeast Asia, primarily by Indian merchants and travellers. As a proof of its far cultural reach, the most beautiful Hindu temples are found in Cambodia (Angkor Wat) and Indonesia (Prambanan Temple). The Hindu epic, the Ramayana, is still popular and incorporated into traditions in several other Asian nations such as Thailand and Indonesia. These cultural links are strongest in India’s immediate neighbours, with “whom India shares not only borders but also ethnic groups, religions and languages. After all,” – claims the Indian author – “it is we in India who share Urdu with Pakistan, Nepali with Nepal, Bangla with Bangladesh, Tamil with Sri Lanka and English with the rest of the world” (Varma, 2007: p.1136).
Although India today is a Hindu majority country, it is a multicultural society with a universalist appeal. The universalism and the tolerant image of Hinduism became popular in the world thanks to the manner it was propagated in the19th century by one of India’s leading spiritual teachers, Swami Vivekananda, who between 1893 and 1984 toured the U.S. and Europe to deliver a series of lectures. Subsequent the popularity of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, a writer and philosopher, Sri Aurobindo, a spiritual and political thinker, and eventually Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the freedom movement—all helped strengthen the image of India as a peaceful and spiritual land. It is rightly argued that Indian culture, “based largely on universalist and assimilationist Hindu principles, is a potent source of soft power” (Mukhrejee, 2013: 10).
Several elements of traditional Indian culture – such as music, dance, theatre, yoga or Ayurveda – are still vibrant in India and have become increasingly appealing to many foreigners. Ayurveda, an ancient system of medicine, is still practiced by millions, and it is also taught at many Indian universities. Yoga attracts many tourists to India and even finds a greater following in the West, either as a path for spiritual realisation or, more often, as a physical exercise that helps to keep the body in good health. From the Theosophical Society in the 19th century—to the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (popularly known as the Hare Krishna Movement)—to the Art of Living Foundation, several organizations have become progressively active outside India in popularising Indian thought and traditions and familiarsing foreign audiences with Indian values.
Old Indian fairy tales from the Panchatantra – were diffused in the West through Arabic intermediaries, while the ancient treatise of love – the Kamasutra – became a part of the world’s cultural heritage. Indian classical music was popularised in the world by India’s leading luminaries in classical music such as the Sarod virtuoso Akbar Ali Khan, Sitarist Pandit Ravi Shankar or Tabla player Zakir Husain. Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and Kathakali are major dance forms from India’s classical traditions that are becoming increasingly popular in the West, powered by the many international performances of Indian artists. The varied styles of sculpture to be found in India’s numerous temples, the range of its art heritage—from the ancient frescoes discovered in the caves of Ajanta and Ellora—to the magnificent Mughal miniature paintings—to the paintings of the modern artists, such as M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza and F. N. Souza—all have found deep admiration outside India. It is worth noting, for instance, that “Mughal miniature paintings reached London as early as 1619 and were copied in Amsterdam between 1654–56 by Rembrandt, who was enchanted with the delicate details or garments and jewellery”. (Chakraverty, 2005: p8). The long and complex history of India is envisioned in its amazing and diverse architecture, full of foreign influences and indigenous styles, ranging from region to region. This has been well recognized by UNESCO, which listed 24 cultural sites (along with six natural sites) on its World Heritage List by the end of 2013. This was the seventh best position in the world: only Italy, China, Spain, France, Germany and Mexico have bigger representation.
Although most cultural assets refer to ancient Indian traditions, there are also modern cultural product
s to catch the world’s attention, with Bollywood probably being the best-known brand from India. The first full-length motion picture, Raja Harishchandra, based on the story from the Hindu epic the Ramayana, was produced in 1913 by Dadasaheb Phalke. With over a hundred years of history, Bollywood is not only one of the oldest film industries in the world but also the largest. For instance, in 2011, the total number of all films produced in India was 1,255 – more than in Nigeria (997), the U.S. (819), and China (584) (UNESCO, 2014). In 2013, the industry earned $1.5 billion – making it the sixth-largest box office market in the world, after the U.S. and Canada, China, Japan, Germany, and France (MPAA, 2013). Bollywood movies are “watched by audiences in more than 70 countries […] and every year a billion more people buy tickets for Indian movies than for Hollywood films” (Thussu, 2014: p.9).
Although Bollywood became a brand name for Indian cinema, it actually only represents movies made in Hindi in Bombay (Mumbai). Besides this, there are many more film making centres in India with movies being made in many Indian languages. In 2012, the majority of movies were produced in the Tamil language (Kollywood) based in Chennai – 262, and then in the Telugu language (Tollywood) in Andhra Pradesh – 256. The Hindi movie industry (Bollywood) in Mumbai, took third place with 221 releases, followed by other movies produced in many regional languages. (FFI, 2012).
Bollywood movies are deeply rooted in India’s cultural ethos; thus, they are prime agents to educate and familiarise foreign audiences with its distinctive traditions, values system and aesthetics. This specific genre of movies, which includes a lot of dancing and singing, accounts for the growing popularity of Hindi songs and music abroad. Moreover, the success of the Bollywood film industry around the world paved the way for the positive and wide reception of Indian soap operas and TV series. Tharoor, for instance, states that one such Indian TV soap opera, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, dubbed into Dari and telecast on the privately-run Tolo TV, was reportedly the most popular television show in Afghan history up to 2009. He recalls from his visit to Kabul that when the show was aired, the streets would be deserted (Tharoor, 2012: p.285). Even the US government acknowledged the popularity of Bollywood in Afghanistan and considered using it for political aims. As one Wikileaks cable disclosed, “Bollywood movies are wildly popular in Afghanistan, so willing Indian celebrities could be asked to travel to Afghanistan to help bring attention to social issues there” (Burke, 2010).
Bollywood stars such as Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan are among the most recognizable Indians in the world, and Indian cinema is highly popular not only in neighbouring countries but also in the Middle East and many countries in Africa. It is said that: “beyond the Western world, and from a cultural diplomacy perspective, Bollywood is perhaps more effective than other countries of the global South. The promotion of family and community- oriented values, in contrast to Western individualism, has made audiences more receptive to Indian films in many other developing countries. Their religiosity and gender representation make Indian films culturally accessible to Muslim audiences, for example in Arab countries and in south and Southeast Asia. Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria has a long-established interest in Hindi cinema. (Thussu 2014:10).
Bollywood cinemacontinues to steadily acquire an increasing fan base in the West, largely due to the growing Indian diaspora. Indian industry reports estimate that 20 per cent of the overseas theatrical market for Bollywood is in the United States (Thussu, 2013: p.137). Britain accounts for one-fifth of the global revenue for Bollywood’s international releases. Western audiences may also enjoy India’s art cinema, whose footprint is steadily advancing in the global market. Also after the international success of Monsoon Wedding, directed by Mira Nair (winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival), it was Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire followed by Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, that put Indian cinema on the map of internationally-acclaimed cinema. Although these projects were frequently undertaken by non-Indian directors, they told Indian stories and employed Indian staff and Indian actors. Most recently, a romantic movie from Mumbai, The Lunchbox, by Ritesh Batra, has established new fans in the West, particularly in the US, where it was widely praised and appreciated.
India has also emerged as a fecund ground for world literature. Several Indian or Indian-origin writers living abroad have been internationally acclaimed for their contribution; many were acknowledged by crowning awards such as the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Man Booker Prize, and the Pulitzer Prize, to name a few. Along with the first Nobel Prize for Literature winner in 1913, Rabindranath Tagore, there is another Nobel Prize winner of Indian origin: V.S. Naipal, who won the Nobel Prize in 1981. Another prestigious international literature award – the Man Booker Prize – was conferred on five Indian or Indian-origin authors: V.S. Naipal (1971), Salman Rushdie (1981), Arundhati Roy (1996), Anita Desai (2006), and Arvind Adiga (2009); and there are five winners of the Pulitzer Prize, who are all persons of Indian origin: Gobind Behari Lal (1937), Jhumpa Lahiri (2000), Geeta Anand (2003), Siddhartha Mukherjee (2011) and Vijay Seshadri, who won it in 2014.
The latest testimony to this growing role of India in the world of literature is the Jaipur Literature Festival, which has emerged as one of the most important events of its kind in the world since its inauguration in 2006. The popularity of literature should not be surprising in a country with a large English-speaking population and huge market for books and print media. India is home to 8,700 privately-owned newspapers, which enjoy a combined daily circulation of 370 million readers – more than any other country. The Times of India is the most widely circulated English-language daily in the world, reaching more people than The New York Times or Guardian. Nine of the world’s top twenty newspapers ranked by 2011 circulation are from India (Seth, 2013: p.312).
One can assume that India’s cultural outreach can only expand in the future with globalisation and growth of modern social media and technology—especially the Internet. The fact that global communication is taking place chiefly through the English language gives a powerful edge to Indians. In the competitive global market of ideas, the numbers favour India. Although only 12 per cent of India’s population has mastered English, this already makes India the second largest English-speaking country in the world, just after the US and ahead of the UK, South Africa and Nigeria. Moreover, in 2012, only 12 per cent of the population had access to the Internet, which made India second to the US in usage of English in the net—and the number of Internet users is being projected to rise to 600 million by 2020 – three time more than the US (Thussu, 2013: p.192). Today, India has the second largest number of Facebook users (62 million in a 2012 survey), and it will continue to rise in the coming years, with India’s use leapfrogging that of the US. During this era of Web 2.0, when there is an open platform for creation of information content, the Indian perspective on major issues will be more visible and dominant (ibid).
India’s attractiveness is evident through a growing interest in Indian cuisine and fashion. Spices, already highly traded goods since ancient times and through the Middle Ages, is gaining popularity alongside its primary product—India’s contemporary cuisine. The spread of Indian restaurants throughout the world not only promotes Indian cuisine, it also develops a whole new market to explore. Interestingly, Tharoor observes (2012: p.283), “in England today, Indian curry houses employ more people than the iron and steel, coal and ship building industries combined.” In an ironic role reversal of the cultural influence between its former colony and England’s great metropolis, the national British meal is reputed to be chicken curry.
One specific form of culture that plays a pivotal role in augmenting the image of countries is sport. Physical fitness, accompanied by a country’s success at major international sport events, can substantially increase its attractiveness and soft power. For instance, a 2013 BBC survey found that, after hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the UK’s image improved the most among tracked countries, attributed to the
“Olympics effect”. As this correlation was acknowledged by other dominating powers, major sporting events were subsequently planned in Beijing(2008), Sochi(2014) and Brazil(2014 and 2016).
India is the new kid on the block – albeit the scrawny one – eager to play, but relatively weak in sports, as illustrated by its unimpressive performance in Olympics Games. In the 2012 Summer Olympics Games, in London, Indian athletes won a mere six medals: the best result in India’s sporting history, but one which put India in 55th position at the medal table. As a bystander to major international sport tournaments, India has had to mobilise brain over brawn, carving out a niche in specific sport disciplines. One opportune example is cricket. In this, India’s strength is especially important in countries such as Australia, Pakistan or South Africa where cricket is popular. The inauguration of a professional cricket league, the Indian Premiere League, in 2008, gave it a leading position among cricket fans in the world. The special appeal of this sport in South Asia gave “cricket diplomacy” an important role in the political history of the region. Championed by the success of cricket, India has set out to conquer the world’sstage of sports in new directions. The 2010 organization of Commonwealth Games in Delhi and the 2011 inauguration of Indian Grand Prix in Formula 1 races in Noida, near New Delhi, are examples of how sports are becoming an excellent outlet for India and its soft power.
India’s Soft Power Page 9
