India's increasing soft power

A country’s soft power essentially refers to its ability to attract other nations to its culture, foreign policy and political values, rather than the use of military might ( Hard power) . In the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed the International Day of Yoga (June 21) , and the same was ?approved by over 170 countries and the rest is history. Sitting in the thought bar this week its about how India’s soft power is increasing at an exponential level

While I am not even talking about the memes going around about how our Chennai Ponnu Kamala became the VP of USA or our Son in law Rishi will become the PM of UK soon, It is about how Indians are increasingly making a mark across the world and lifting up the image of BRAND INDIA. Sundar Pitchai, Nadela?or Arvind of IBM, each time they take the stage the buzz is how India?is ruling the knowledge industry worldwide.

Soft power of a country is when its culture becomes a subject of aspiration and admiration by the global community. India is blessed with immense cultural assets, be it Yoga, Ayurveda, literature, arts, heritage, curry and even its education system, ( you may remember earlier this year UAE?and India agreed to set up the first IIT outside India in UAE)

During the difficult Covid19 years India soft power?increased immensely by becoming the biggest vaccine producer in the whole world. Our film industry is a silent mover in the international entertainment market. Rajinikanth ( see pic above) ?was perhaps the first Indian actor to discover a market in Japan. When his 'Muthu' released in 1995, the film received an overwhelming response from ?Japan. The film, which was dubbed and released there, became successful at the box-office. Shah Rukh Khan was conferred ?the Malaysian title of 'Datuk', similar ?to the British knighthood, many a times taxi drivers?in Malaysia?have asked me if I have met the Dato Sharukh Khan.

Former Australian PM ?Scott Morrison tweeted a picture of how he made a popular Indian s Samosa along with mango chutney, and gave it ?a personal twist ?by calling it ‘ScoMosas’ and tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with whom he has an upcoming meeting via video link.?

British Council and Alliance Fran?aise are ?the visible soft power engagements of UK and France how ever the performance of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, with centres in about 40 countries and aimed at promoting Indian culture, I still remember the glossy SPAN magazine of the USA being delivered by post to my grand fathers house which I used to cover my notebooks.

India definitely has the potential and holds immense opportunities to elevate its position further as the rising global soft super power , The International Society for Krishna Consciousness ( ISKON) known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement is a well-known movement. ??India’s biggest non-monetised global export of Yoga, Spiritualism, ?Classical Music and Dance, to the ?millions ?who ?come ?to ?India every ?year ??for ?its ??Holistic ??healthcare ?( Ayurveda) is worth mentioning.

To conclude soft power is when you attract people of other countries and culture to come and experience and adopt its ways and India is working hard on it to become the GLOBAL SOFT SUPERPOWER