How India Uses Soft Power in Foreign Policy

India's soft power — the ability to attract and influence through cultural appeal, values, and the legitimacy of its policies rather than through coercion or payment — is arguably the country's most under-leveraged foreign policy asset. Joseph Nye's concept of soft power is particularly apt for India: a country with a 5,000-year civilisation, the birthplace of major world religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism), the inventor of zero and the decimal system, the origin of yoga and Ayurveda, the producer of the world's most-watched film industry (approximately 2,000 films/year), and the home of the world's largest democratic electoral process — all of which have global cultural reach that formal diplomatic instruments cannot replicate.

Representational Visualization: How India Uses Soft Power in Foreign Policy

Modi's government has systematically mobilised soft power in its foreign policy: the International Day of Yoga (UN General Assembly resolution 2015, 177 co-sponsors, observed globally since June 21, 2015) is India's most successful multilateral soft power initiative; "Vishwaguru" (India as teacher of the world) and "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (One Earth, One Family, One Future — India's G20 2023 theme, drawn from Sanskrit Maha Upanishad) are civilisational framings that anchor India's global identity claim; Buddhist circuit diplomatic engagement (inviting Buddhist-majority nations to heritage sites, hosting Buddhist festivals) uses India's spiritual heritage to build Asian diplomatic bridges; and Bollywood's global audience — particularly in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the diaspora — creates cultural familiarity with India that formal diplomacy builds upon.

What You Need to Know

• International Day of Yoga (IDY): proposed by Modi at UNGA September 2014; UNGA resolution adopted December 2014 (177 co-sponsors — most ever for any UNGA resolution at that time); June 21 designated as International Day of Yoga; observed in 193 countries; the Modi UNGA appearance in 2014 was the first time an Indian PM personally proposed a specific UNGA resolution; IDY has created a global symbolic association between yoga and India.
• Bollywood's global reach: approximately 2,000 Indian films produced annually (world's largest by volume); international box office share growing (Pathaan, KGF Chapter 2, Baahubali with significant overseas revenues); significant viewership in Gulf states (3 million Indian diaspora in UAE), Pakistan (pirated but culturally significant), Africa (particularly East and West Africa), and Southeast Asia; Bollywood creates cultural familiarity with India that predisposes audiences to positive India perceptions.
• Buddhist heritage diplomacy: India is the birthplace of Buddhism (Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Lumbini area); Buddhist circuit tourism connects India with Sri Lanka, Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, South Korea, and China's Buddhist communities; India's SAARC and BIMSTEC cultural diplomacy highlights Buddhist heritage; the Nalanda International University revival (India, in partnership with 17 countries) reconstructs the ancient Buddhist university as a contemporary soft power statement.
• Indian cuisine as soft power: Indian food — curry, biryani, samosa, chai — is one of the world's most globally adopted cuisines; approximately 10,000+ Indian restaurants in the UK; significant presence in the US, Canada, UAE, Australia; the global adoption of Indian food creates cultural familiarity and positive affect for India; the Indian diaspora's culinary contribution to their host countries is a soft power contribution that requires no government investment.
• ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations): government body managing cultural diplomacy; operates Indian Cultural Centres in 35 countries; manages scholarship programmes (ICCR Scholarships for 5,000 foreign students annually in Indian universities); organises Indian music, dance, and cultural events globally; India-UNESCO cooperation on heritage sites, intangible cultural heritage.

How It Works in Practice

1. Modi's personal brand as soft power instrument: Modi's international communication style — personal diplomacy, diaspora outreach, social media engagement — contributes to India's soft power. Modi is among the most-followed world leaders on social media globally; his engagement with NRI communities during foreign visits (Madison Square Garden rally in New York 2014, Wembley Stadium London 2015) creates spectacle that shapes international media coverage and demonstrates India's diaspora mobilisation capacity.

2. Sanskrit as civilisational diplomat: India's G20 presidency chose "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (from Sanskrit's Maha Upanishad) as the G20 theme and placed an authentic replica of the Nalanda ruins as the backdrop for the G20 summit venue — a deliberate statement of India's ancient civilisational continuity. This civilisational framing positions India not merely as a rapidly developing economy but as a 5,000-year civilisation with inherent moral and intellectual authority — a soft power argument that China finds most competitive.

3. Ayurveda and Yoga as health diplomacy: The Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy) institutionalises Indian traditional medicine as a diplomatic instrument; AYUSH bilateral agreements with UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and others promote Indian traditional medicine standards internationally; during COVID-19, India's promotion of Yoga and Ayurveda as complementary health measures created both domestic and international engagement.

4. Indian cinema's diplomatic utility: Bollywood films depicting positive India-Gulf narratives (Tiger franchise, Dhoom franchise) reach Gulf state audiences who then have cultural familiarity with India that India's formal diplomacy builds on; the Indian film industry's depiction of India as a modern, aspirational, and culturally rich country shapes international audiences' India image; this is soft power that the government facilitates but doesn't directly control.

5. The "Brand India" investment promotion: India's "Incredible India" tourism campaign; the "Make in India" lion-gear brand; "Invest India" as the FDI promotion agency — these are economic diplomacy branding efforts that overlap with soft power by presenting India as a destination (tourism, investment, partnership) rather than merely a source (diaspora, exports). The Namaste Trump (2020) and Howdy Modi (2019) mass events are both soft power spectacles and diplomatic signalling.

What People Often Misunderstand

• India's soft power has real but unevenly distributed geographic reach: In the UAE, Kuwait, and Gulf states with large Indian populations, India's soft power through Bollywood, food, and diaspora presence is enormous; in East Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, India's soft power is much more limited; the geographic concentration of India's soft power partly mirrors its diaspora distribution.
• Soft power cannot substitute for hard interests in foreign policy: Yoga and Bollywood create goodwill for India but don't produce UNSC votes, FTA concessions, or China's border restraint; soft power is a predisposing factor — it makes people more receptive to India's positions — not a determining factor in foreign policy outcomes.
• India's soft power has been undermined by some domestic developments: International reporting on religious minority treatment, press freedom decline, and democratic backsliding (V-Dem, Freedom House classifications) counters India's "world's largest democracy" soft power narrative; the gap between India's civilisational soft power and its governance quality metrics is a diplomatic vulnerability.
• Chinese soft power competition is intensifying: China's Confucius Institutes (declining due to security concerns in the West but still present in Asia and Africa), Chinese language teaching, Chinese entertainment (streaming platforms), and BRI's infrastructure "generosity" framing are China's soft power tools in competition with India's; India's soft power advantage is in democracy, cultural depth, and English-language accessibility; China's advantage is in infrastructure and financial resources.
• The International Day of Yoga was India's most successful soft power institutional moment: Getting 177 countries to co-sponsor a UNGA resolution in 2014 — the year of Modi's government's start — was a remarkable diplomatic achievement that has produced a permanent annual global yoga observance; it is better soft power diplomacy than any Indian government has achieved before or since.

What Changes Over Time

India's soft power in digital content — the global reach of Indian music (the BTS-equivalent success of some Indian music internationally; Indian classical music's global following), Indian OTT platforms expanding internationally, and the Indian gaming industry's global footprint — will be the next phase of India's soft power expansion, driven by private sector rather than government initiative.

Sources and Further Reading

• Insightsonindia — India's evolving foreign policy: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2025/06/10/indias-evolving-foreign-policy/
• Valdai Club — India's strategic autonomy: https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/state-sovereignty-and-strategic-autonomy-an-indian/
• CSIS — India's future choices: https://www.csis.org/analysis/indias-future-strategic-choices-complications-mass

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