Indian Soft Power
and Multilateralism
To,
Dr. S. Jaishankar
Minister of External Affairs
India
3rd September 2020
Dharmlaabh – Blessings
Six years ago, when NDA won general election in 2014, I had conveyed my best wishes and blessings
to the then newly selected EAM late Sushma Swaraj wherein I had recommended her to thrust upon
India’s Soft Power to further the cause of Nation. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by unveiling
the NEP 2020, has taken a strong step in this direction. Since ages education has been a very effective
tool to harness and expand soft power of any civilization.
It is very well-known fact that Lord Macaulay successfully westernised education in India; English was
made the official language for the government and courts, and was adopted as the official medium of
instruction. He envisaged creating “a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste,
in opinions, in morals, and in intellect.” To gauge how much, he succeeded in his mission, we only need
to look into the history of the Indian educated classes since that time onwards. The mind set of today’s
generation says it all. The anti-Indian culture, anti-Indian tradition and anti-Indian religious education
induced by Macaulay consistently weakens this nation. Now, educated Indians hardly even care to
know about Indian thinking, Indian problems, Indian models and solutions to these problems. The best
brains and the best energies are concentrated on evolving and applying British models and solutions.
They seem to know lesser and lesser about their own nation. An army of doctors, engineers, lawyers
etc educated in English systems and ideologies are live examples of potential of soft power, who zealously propagate, expand and defend British soft power in an autonomous way. Such wheel of
educational power once set rolling, does not further require any more energy to push. It keeps on
expanding in automation mode.
It is an open secret that since colonisation era, British had used their universities and education
systems aptly for this purpose, not only in India but worldwide. It should not be out of place to mention
here the role of Catholic Church in this regard. ‘Oxford’ claimed to be one of the oldest University was
given a ‘university charter’ by Pope Innocent IV in 1254 by his Papal Bull “Querentes in agro”.
Numerous other renowned and established universities in Italy, France, England, Scotland etc were
founded by Papal Bulls, many of which are celebrating 7th or 8th centenary.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that such universities along with many other institutions
covertly joint-ventured by British and Catholic Churches, played a mammoth role in spreading
Christianity coupled with British soft power and destroying other civilisations. For example, the land
with the most ancient cultural continuity, the oldest living nation Greece did not physically die. The
people of that nation did not die. The present generation in Greece are the descendants of those who
were the originators of that great civilisation. But today, if we ask any of them what are the ideals that
sustained their nation they would say, “We do not know, it is in the books; it is in the museum; you may
refer to it better there.” This is how a civilisation is destroyed, rather mummified. They are the victims
of co-ordinated efforts of destructing an old civilisation and replacing it with a new one.
Not only Greece, but unfortunately the civilisation of multiple nations of all the continents including
USA, Canada, Australia, India etc have become victims of this British Soft Power. With this Soft Power
British could expand dominance of their language, culture, governing system etc in their own colonies,
in the colonies of their allies, in allied and friendly nations and even in enemy nations.
Well aware by the strength of Indian civilisation lying in its education systems, and well experienced by
their own strength of western education systems, Indian universities were demeaned and demonised
to be replaced with western education systems. Luckily the destruction of Indian civilisation has not
crossed the point of rubicon and is today moribund yet resurrectible.
Today, again with NEP 2020, India has the chance to recreate the glorious history of world class Indian universities based on Indian education systems. By shaping the NEP reforms effectively, the heritage
and culture of Indian civilisation can be proliferated by inculcating it in the thought process of the
younger generation. In this process, unlike the West, who weaponised their education system, we
need not educate to exploit others, but explain them values of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and
inculcate the ability to be rooted in ground, such that a strong value-based society can be created. This
in turn will synergise to create fair, just and equitable World Order.
Further, for creating such a world order, your vision to redefine globalisation and reform in
multilateralism to solve global challenges of humanity like pandemic, climate change and terrorism is
correct and very much necessary. But along with this today humanity (i) faces an existential threat from
arms race, (ii) is in dire need for robust cyber security, (iii) is in vicious circle of skewed financial systems
towards reserve currency and (iv) faces the peril of private digital data’s theft and abuse. All these too
require combined global attention at various multilateral platforms, without which it is difficult to zero
them down.
In the event of TERI’s 19th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture, while referring 9/11 and Covid-19, you had
mentioned that “globalised focused responses to either challenge have tended to emerge only when
there has been sufficient disruption created by a ‘spectacular’ event.” It is true. But such spectacular
event occurs only when western developed countries are impacted. Otherwise, irrespective of the fact
that the event is so grave and heavily impacted other countries, it hardly gains spectacular status.
With my concern for the nation and world at large I had shared my views. Hope the same are of use
and interest to you. Your views in the matter are solicited.
With such small note I end, Dharmalaabh
