RK Pachauri
Political attention at the global level has focused largely on specific regions due to the potential for conflict or flexing of muscles by some powers. India is, undoubtedly, not in this league of exhibition of military might and is not seen as a player of such power politics as some other nations. However, in an era of greater globalization and efforts by others to dominate world affairs, India needs to refine its existing strategy by which it carves out its own rightful place in the world.
It was the distinguished academic and advisor to various US Administrations, Joseph Nye who coined the term “soft power”, which can be employed to assert “the ability to alter the behaviour of others to get what you want”. In a world where military power has been the major instrument for influencing behaviour of other nations to suit the interests of powerful players on the globe, this remains the most favored approach of nations attempting to dominate others to serve their own ends. If an example of a relatively poor nation using hard power to achieve it sends is required, then clearly North Korea can be cited as a case of such power impacting on the behaviour of even an adversary as powerful as the United States. However, India cannot for a variety of reasons rely solely on hard power, wherein the country has some limitations.
Centuries ago when India did exercise power far beyond its shores, it has done so through influences confined to the religious, cultural or social arenas. It is for this reason that countries of Southeast Asia still retain India’s influence in their languages, cultural activities and to varying degrees even in their religious beliefs. Buddhism, of course, was India’s offering to the world, and combined with it there were, undoubtedly, cultural influences, the signs of which are apparent even today, particularly in Southeast Asia.
However, over centuries, and particularly during the colonial period, India was unable to build on its previous contributions to other societies and, sadly, the Buddhist linkage also weakened. It is truly sad that places like Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and others of importance to Buddhism have neither been treated with the respect and importance they deserve, nor have we established infrastructure around them which would have attracted a larger number of Buddhist pilgrims to combine religious tourism with entertainment and healthy enjoyment. This, of course, is no different from the manner in which we have treated the city of Agra, where apart from the Taj Mahal and the historic fort there is little to attract the average tourist, and much to repel with the dirt, poverty, pollution and lack of infrastructure that exist. It is important for India to develop a very clear strategy for exercise of soft power, for which a coordinated strategy across sectors is essential.
Prime Minister Modi’s effort to have the United Nations declare the International Day of Yoga on June 21 each year is a major step in the right direction. This, however, needs to be followed up with a large effort to promote yoga all over the world essentially through Indians and efforts by Indian organizations. There are already places in other countries where others who claim knowledge of yoga often exploit the opportunity by earning large fees but provide instruction which deviates from the essence and practice of true yoga.
A very clear plan and strategy needs to be put in place by which India spreads its knowledge and expertise in yoga subtly as an Indian initiative. This would be not only benefit human society as a whole, but would constitute an effective exercise of India’s soft power. Joseph Nye is reported to have referred to soft power as “the ability to achieve goals through attraction rather than coercion'”.
India has a lot more to offer in terms of its relationship with other parts of the world. This is a country which has always respected knowledge and education, notwithstanding the lamentable state of our own education system today, and India has much to offer to Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America – it is already offering a great deal to higher education in the west, with some of the most distinguished academics coming from India.
In Africa, many universities and even high schools are appreciative of the experience and skills they have been able to draw from India. But perhaps we need to go beyond export of talent and emigration of teachers to other parts of the world.
It is also effective to attract trainees and students to our own shores. The programme launched by the Ministry of External Affairs as part of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) has generally grown as a useful effort in development assistance and the creation of human capital in other countries. As part of ITEC, technical assistance is provided bilaterally to other countries, and training of a range of professionals from several countries is carried out in India on a significant scale. But given the huge demand for such training in other countries, there is need for scaling up this programme and also broadening its scope. The division of Development Partnership Administration in the Ministry of External Affairs needs strengthening such that capacity building programmes become an important component of the exercise of soft power by India.
It hardly needs to be mentioned that mentor-trainee relationships have substantial and lasting value to both parties.When a person who has benefited from ITEC programmes reaches high levels of responsibility, the appreciation of the knowledge received even in early life generally remains undiminished. To that extent the construction of a highway or bridge in another country costing billions of dollars may not be the most cost effective means of earning goodwill. But far beyond selfish considerations, the spread of knowledge, expertise and the building of productive capacity in another society is essentially of benefit to the world and certainly to the beneficiary society.
But it is essential to realize that if our own educational system and scientific institutions are fossilized and weak, we will never be able to achieve a soft power status that we may aspire to. As the world seeks human capital in areas of advanced science, technology and related disciplines, which are essential for development in the 21st century, then India must first put its own house in order in the educational and scientific fields. We have a long way to go in that regard even for domestic applications.The journey to exercise of soft power is necessarily hard.
(The writer is former chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2002-15)
