Time: 15 min Date: 09-04-2023

BUDDHIST DIPLOMACY

ROLE OF BUDDHISM IN INDIA’S SOFT POWER STRATEGY

News

· Government of India is placing a strong emphasis on the use of soft power in India’s
foreign policy. One of its manifestation is Buddhist diplomacy.

Need of Buddhist Diplomacy

· According to political scientist, Joseph Nye, in addition to hard power diplomacy

(through military intervention), a soft power diplomacy (deriving from cultural
influence) with other regions should be prioritized.

· After World War II, Buddhism as a religion (due to its emphasis on peaceful
co-existence) had an enormous resurgence and was generally accepted in East Asia's
Japan and South Korea, as it was by the former Soviet Union's citizens after the Cold
War.

· According to current estimates, 97% of all Buddhists worldwide reside in Asia, and
several nations, including Bhutan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, view Buddhism as
fundamental to their national identities and cultures.

· Buddhism can also be used by India to strengthen ties with Asian countries and
contribute to foreign policy goals like the "Act East" and "Neighborhood First" policies.

Factors in Favour of India

· Although having a relatively small population of Buddhists (as per Census 2011, there
are 0.84 crores Buddhist in India comprising 0.7% of total population), India has a few
factors working in its favour to claim legitimacy in its promotion of Buddhist diplomacy
for a variety of reasons.

· First, Buddhism has its roots in India, giving it a unique claim to historical legitimacy.

· Second, there are many important Buddhist sites in India, including Bodh Gaya,
 Sarnath, and Nalanda.

· Third, India has cultivated a reputation as a champion of the oppressed because of the
Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Parliament, which are both exiled in the city of Dharamshala
as a result of the conflict with the Chinese government.

· In fact there has long been a connection between Buddhism and state diplomacy, going
all the way back to Ashoka and his acceptance of Dharmavijaya.

Steps by Government of India

· In this background, there has been a growing use of Buddhism in India's soft power
diplomacy.

· The Indian government has ensured strategic diplomatic visits to several Buddhist
countries as well as a visit to Buddhist landmarks around the world. In May 2022, on the
occasion of Buddha Purnima, PM Modi visited Lumbini (in Nepal), the Buddha's
birthplace.

· The Indian government approved a $15 million grant to Sri Lanka in 2022 for the
refurbishment of Buddhist temples, archaeological collaboration, and reciprocal
exhibition of Buddha's relics.

· The Ministry of Tourism has created Buddhist tourist circuits to increase tourism to
these unique Buddhist places. There were 2.7 Lakh international visitors to Bodhgaya in
2018 alone.

· The Government of India has restored and established Nalanda University (in Rajgir,
Bihar) under the Nalanda University Act, 2010. It has been established as a pan-Asian
project on the basis of a Joint Statement at the 4th East Asia Summit held in Thailand in
2009.

· In March 2023, India hosted a conference on ‘Shared Buddhist Heritage’ under the
ambit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The conference was organized by
the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of External Affairs and the International Buddhist
Confederation (IBC), as a grantee body of the Ministry of Culture.

· India will also be hosting the World Buddhist Conference in the next few months.

Competition with China

· China has taken similar steps to use Buddhism as a lever in exercising its influence over
the Buddhist at the same time. The ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) initiative by
the Chinese Communist Party has included Buddhist-majority countries like Nepal, Sri
Lanka, Mongolia, Bhutan, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Myanmar, and Malaysia.

· The Dalai Lama dispute is the most salient example of India and China's competition in
the field of Buddhist diplomacy. The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan
government-in-presence exiles in the Dharamshala has improved India's standing
among Buddhists worldwide. Yet, this has been a point of conflict between the two
 nations because the Chinese state believes that the Dalai Lama pose a threat to Chinese
sovereignty.

· However, India can significantly contest China in Buddhist diplomacy. India, culturally
and historically, has an innate right to deploy Buddhism as its own and has legitimacy
over the same while the same cannot be said about its direct counter power China which
intends to use it as part of its economic strategy.

Challenges and Recommendations

· While there have been notable developments, the Indian government faces a critical
issue in effective execution and thus more needs to do much more in the arena of
tangible results.

· John Nye lays a lot of weight on a nation's credibility when measuring its soft power.
Issues like poor human development indices, social inequality, political violence,
corruption, inadequate infrastructure, bad governance, and comparatively weak "hard
power" are a few of the factors that might hinder India's ability to use soft power.

· India will lead the SCO in a rotating presidency from 2022 to 2023. India must take
advantage of this chance to highlight its Buddhist ties to the SCO members, notably the
Central Asian republics.

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