India’s soft power signifiers and global south’s polyphonic narrative

Abstract

The epistemic unity in global south narratives nourished in its original habitat and attuned to the lived reality of global south stands as an indictment to the Euro-Atlantic narrative. However, a conspicuous absence of coherence in the language and modes of resistance highlighted by the hallowed quarters of international community often becomes the rationale for the dismissal of this shared sense of decoloniality. This sense has taken upon itself the combative role to resuscitate a praxis rooted in culture which does not only inhere from theology but also, politics. Akin to this narrative is the political substratum of South Asian regional blocs that has nourished and sustained different depictions of cultures coming from across the member states of this bloc. This goes beyond the political and economic solidarity of the member nations and witnesses a steady and concomitant decline of confrontational method of establishing supremacy or cementing status hierarchy on the global platform. Decolonized nations have eagerly surpassed their respective language silos and also have converged their cultural fiefdom to find a common ground and be ruled by an independent political ethic. In this context, this paper sets out to map the trajectory of evolution of India’s role in developing its cultural signifiers like Yoga, Ayurveda and the festival of Mahakumbh. It will explore the possibilities of cultural rejuvenation and the potency of India’s cultural capital while in conversation with other nations of South Asia. It also sets out to evaluate the potential of cultural signifiers in the making of a polyphonic narrative of the global south. This layered cultural edifice of the global south not only validates the economic potential of the countries independent of the west but also their essential worth in protecting the indigenous value system that generates political stability. A sustained effort by the west diminishing the cultural worth of countries in South East Asia had made it incumbent upon these countries to not just rise in defiance but to cultivate strong cultural roots which can bind varied voices signifying the diversity that is endemic to these countries. The position that is argued in this paper is not just a reactionary viewpoint but a proportionate response to rebalance power structures through New Diplomacy.