Cultural Diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy refers to the use of its culture by a country to achieve its foreign policy goals. It is a type of public diplomacy and soft power that m involves the exchange of ideas, information, art and other aspects of culture to develop mutual understanding between different countries and their peoples.
The term 'soft power' was first used by Joseph Nye, which means the ability of a country to influence another country to act according to its will without the use of force.It helps in promoting international relations between different countries of the world and their peoples. Although it is a new word, it has been used for centuries.
India's Cultural Diplomacy
The Ministry of External Affairs through its Public Diplomacy Division (established in 2006) and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) (established in1950) has made intense efforts to exploit India's soft power.Since its inception, ICCR has used many of its resources, such as cultural centres, festivals of India and Indian Studies Chairs, to promote cultural and other contacts with other countries.
India has signed more than 100bilateral cultural agreements with other countries and is running more than 50 cultural exchange programmes.
The educational assistance being provided inthe form of scholarships provides an opportunity to the people of other countries to come to India for education and get information about Indian culture.
Other aspects of Indian soft power include ancient civilizational and cultural heritage, yoga and spirituality, classical and modern music and dance, Bollywood films,television serials, cuisine, the principle of non-violence and traditional medicine(Ayurveda).
Recent examples related to India's cultural diplomacy On the initiative of the Prime Minister, 21 June was declared as International Day of Yoga by the UnitedNations.Welcoming the President of China at the famous Sabarmati Ashram."Ramayan Trail" 44 and"Buddha Circuit".
Importance of cultural diplomacy
It can be more effective than traditional diplomacy in achieving foreign policy objectives. Traditional diplomacy is based on the hard power of the country, that is,its strategy and military power.
Forums of interaction between peoples of different countries are helpful in laying the groundwork for establishing friendly and strong relations between people of different nationalities.
Policy-makers can make political, economic and military agreements based on 'trust'created through cultural diplomacy.
Programs related to cultural diplomacy can also be helpful in curbing ignorance and baseless hatred between different countries.
