India readies a new soft power playbook

India’s new strategy uses culture to build international goodwill and show the country’s historical connections with other societies. The Centre plans a global campaign around shared traditions, civilizational links and cultural practices. It is part of wider efforts under Project Mausam and Project Brihattar Bharat.

The main mechanism is joint UNESCO nomination. India and Mauritius are pursuing recognition for Chhath Mahaparv. India also wants shared recognition for Satyagraha sites in India and South Africa, and for heritage linked to Indian migration. Other possible nominations include shadow puppetry, Buddhist chanting, manuscripts, batik and turban-tying traditions.

The strategy is still developing. Culture secretary Vivek Aggarwal said India had identified proposals and was working with partner countries. He also said India had not previously joined the joint nomination process for world heritage sites. Conservation work by the ASI in several countries supports this wider cultural diplomacy.

UNESCO World Heritage status recognizes places considered to have outstanding cultural or natural value, such as monuments, archaeological sites or historic landscapes. The Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity recognizes living practices passed between communities. These can include festivals, performance traditions, rituals, knowledge and craft skills.

The difference is therefore between a place and a living cultural expression. India is pursuing World Heritage recognition for sites linked to Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement in India and South Africa. It is pursuing intangible recognition for Chhath Mahaparv and traditions such as shadow puppetry, Buddhist chanting, manuscripts and textiles.

The two systems can strengthen different kinds of cultural visibility. The article reports that Deepavali joined UNESCO’s Representative List in December 2025. Joint nominations could let several countries document one shared tradition or historical connection, rather than presenting it as belonging exclusively to one country.

India is proposing joint recognition for both tangible sites and intangible traditions. With Mauritius, it is pursuing UNESCO recognition for Chhath Mahaparv. With South Africa, it is seeking World Heritage status for places associated with Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement in both countries.

Other proposals trace older connections. India is examining archaeological links between the Indus-Saraswati civilization and sites in Oman and Bahrain. It is also exploring shared heritage created by Indian migration to Mauritius, Suriname, Fiji and Guyana. Possible intangible nominations include shadow puppetry across India, Indonesia and Southeast Asia, Buddhist chanting, manuscript traditions linking India with Southeast Asia and China, batik and Asian turban-tying practices.

The proposals remain under development. The government is working with partner countries, while the Archaeological Survey of India is undertaking conservation and related work in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mongolia. These efforts support broader recognition of shared cultural connections.

The clearest figure in the article is Chhath Puja’s reach. It is celebrated by around 150 million people in Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, as well as large parts of Nepal, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Mauritius, Fiji, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. That spread reflects both migration and established communities.

The article also describes yoga, Buddhism, Ayurveda, wellness practices, music, dance and Indian films as having spread internationally. Buddhism reached places including Mongolia and Japan, while Indian temple architecture influenced Angkor in Cambodia. International events such as the G20 and Brics summits have also displayed Indian culture to foreign delegations.

However, the source gives no participation or audience figures for these other forms. It presents their global reach as evidence of growing soft power. The government wants UNESCO partnerships and cultural exchange to make these connections more visible and durable.

Cultural traditions often cross borders through migration, trade, religion and long contact between communities. Claiming exclusive ownership can hide those connections. Joint nominations allow participating countries to present a tradition or site as shared heritage, reflecting how people actually practiced, adapted and carried it across regions.

The article gives Chhath as an example. Chhath was carried to Mauritius by indentured labourers, so India and Mauritius are pursuing recognition together. Similar proposals cover shadow puppetry across India and Southeast Asia, manuscript traditions connecting India with Southeast Asia and China, and migration-linked heritage in Suriname, Fiji and Guyana.

This approach can create cooperation instead of cultural competition. Amitabh Mattoo said India gains by sharing traditions such as batik and shadow puppetry freely, rather than claiming them. The process is new for India in relation to World Heritage nominations, but the government is building partnerships around it.

Project Mausam draws on Indian Ocean trade routes and the cultural exchanges they enabled. These routes connected Indian civilization with societies in other countries. The article links them to archaeological and cultural relationships involving Oman, Bahrain, Southeast Asia and the wider Indian Ocean world.

Migration carried traditions in a different way. Chhath reached Mauritius through indentured labourers, while shared heritage proposals include Indian migration links with Suriname, Fiji and Guyana. Religious exchange also mattered. Buddhist thought reached Mongolia and Japan without embassies, and Indian temple architecture influenced Angkor in Cambodia. Gandhi developed his method in South Africa before returning to India.

These examples show culture moving through ordinary historical relationships. Trade carried ideas and practices, migration carried festivals and memory, and religious networks carried beliefs and artistic forms. India’s current policy seeks to document these connections through joint UNESCO nominations and conservation work abroad.

Soft power is the ability to influence others through attraction, credibility and shared values, rather than through force or payment. Culture can make a country familiar and appealing. It can encourage interest, goodwill and cooperation without demanding that another country obey. The article describes India’s soft power as an inheritance that often exists beyond its borders.

Examples include yoga, Buddhism, Ayurveda, wellness practices, music, dance, films and festivals. Buddhism reached Mongolia and Japan without an embassy. Chhath reached Mauritius through indentured labourers. Gandhi developed Satyagraha in South Africa before bringing it to Sabarmati. These paths differ from military pressure or economic leverage because people carry and adopt culture through contact and meaning.

India is now organizing this influence through Project Mausam, Project Brihattar Bharat, UNESCO partnerships and ASI conservation. Events such as the G20 and Brics summits also display Indian culture. The strategy aims to turn existing connections into lasting international recognition.