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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Srinagar today to take part in an International Yoga Festival. Last year, he hosted a public session at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, which drew participants from 180 countries. Yoga has been gaining popularity ever since he floated the idea of having a day to celebrate this ancient Indian practice, which has at its core the idea of holistic wellbeing of the body and mind, during his address to the UN General Assembly in 2014. A breath of fresh air as a global collective action and a lifestyle choice: this year’s motto is “Yoga for self and society.”
Since the UN declared June 21 as International Yoga Day in 2015, the already popular yoga practice has gained more adherents in many countries. For Delhi, yoga’s global acceptance demonstrates the soft power influence that is beneficial for the country as it seeks to find a larger and more influential role in global affairs. In fact, soft power was also New Delhi’s selling point in international affairs as the newly independent nation sought to engage with the world on its own terms after breaking away from colonial rule. Classical music, dance, textiles, crafts, and popular cinema, which barely survived the onslaught of colonialism, and which are the result of India’s engagement with Western cultural idioms and indigenous theatrical traditions, have won India friends both within and outside its neighbourhood.
America has mastered this art and American soft power played a major role in Washington winning the Cold War. Today, Korean soft power through K-Pop and K-Dramas is creating a new global paradigm for the country. Similarly, the promotion of yoga underlines the value of soft power in embellishing India’s position as a “friend of the world.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Srinagar today to participate in the International Yoga Celebration. Last year, he hosted a public session at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, which drew participants from 180 countries. Since his 2014 address to the UN General Assembly, in which he floated the idea of a day to celebrate this ancient Indian practice, which has at its core the idea of holistic wellness of the body and mind, yoga has taken on a new lease of life as a global communal activity and lifestyle choice. This year’s motto is “Yoga for Self and Society”.
Since the UN declared June 21 as International Yoga Day in 2015, the already popular yoga practice has gained more adherents in many countries. For Delhi, yoga’s global acceptance demonstrates the soft power influence that is beneficial for the country as it seeks to find a larger and more influential role in global affairs. In fact, soft power was also New Delhi’s selling point in international affairs as the newly independent nation sought to engage with the world on its own terms after breaking away from colonial rule. Classical music, dance, textiles, crafts, and popular cinema, which barely survived the onslaught of colonialism, and which are the result of India’s engagement with Western cultural idioms and indigenous theatrical traditions, have won India friends both within and outside its neighbourhood.
America has mastered this art and American soft power played a major role in Washington winning the Cold War. Today, Korean soft power through K-Pop and K-Dramas is creating a new global paradigm for the country. Similarly, the promotion of yoga underlines the value of soft power in embellishing India’s position as a “friend of the world.”
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