RESURGENCE OF INDIA’S SOFT POWER UNDER MODI REIGN: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

Though the origin of the term 'Soft power' is associated with the contemporary American thinker Joseph Nye, a more intense notion of soft power can be traced back to ancient India. From the age of Kautilya, India has had a long tradition of soft power policy. With an initial subdued performance till the 1990s India larked high with its soft power policy. But the breakthrough came in 2014 when all the SAARC leaders attended the swearing-in ceremony of the Indian Prime Minister. India recouped its charismatic leadership under the reign of Modi that went astray after Nehru. India’s soft power diplomacy under Modi has extended its outreach not only in immediate but also to the extended neighbourhood through spiritualism, yoga, Indian culture, sculptures; diaspora policy and very recently vaccine diplomacy. Strained out from multiculturalism, the Indian notion of unity in diversity has outshined than before. But the religious dogmatism and communal discordance have severely hampered India’s cultural pluralism at the global level. The two terms of Modi are significantly important as the party under Modi has been committed to reorienting its foreign policy through integrated soft power diplomacy. The paper aims to analyse the growth of India’s soft power in the two terms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.