Buddhist diplomacy

IN NEWS:

• India recently hosted a two-day global Buddhist summit in New Delhi (April 20-21). The summit was a significant opportunity for India to project and connect with the Buddhist population around the world, thereby strengthening the country’s soft power.

BUDDHISM AS SOFT POWER:

• Joseph Nye, a well-acclaimed scholar of international relations, defines soft power as ‘the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments.’
• The relationship between Buddhism and state diplomacy is not a new one, and dates back to the days of Emperor Ashoka, who began the practice of dharmavijaya or conquest through Dharma.
• During the Cold War, China used Buddhist diplomacy to engage with its neighbouring countries, and it continues to employ this approach to gain legitimacy for its Belt and Road Initiative.

IMPORTANCE OF BUDDHIST DIPLOMACY:

• Alternative tool in international relations:
  • Promoting international relations based on Buddhist ideologies highlights India’s attempts to provide an alternative to contested global politics, with morality as the guiding principle.
• Promote regional cohesion:
  • 97% of the world’s Buddhist population lives in the Asian continent, and a number of countries such as Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka conceive of Buddhism as intrinsic to their national values and identity. Here, Buddhist diplomacy has the potential to promote regional cohesion.
• Strengthen policy objectives:
  • Deepening ties with Asian nations on the basis of Buddhism could potentially feed into larger policy objectives of the government, namely, the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, and the ‘Act East’ policy.
• Leverage India’s cultural advantages:
  • India has unique historical and cultural ties to Buddhism, which enables it to leverage Buddhist diplomacy more effectively than others. For eg:  
    • The Buddhist faith originated in India, therefore granting it singular historical legitimacy.
    • India has numerous sites of importance to the Buddhist faith, such as Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, and Nalanda.
    • In addition to ties with Tibetan Buddhism, historical links to Theravada Buddhism means that India is in a good position to further relations with other Buddhist countries and create conversation between multiple streams of this faith.
• Enhance India’s reputation:
  • Through Buddhist diplomacy, India seeks to reinforce its image as a responsible global power committed to peaceful cooperation and regional stability.
  • Also, India has nurtured an image of being a protector of the persecuted because of the presence of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in the city of Dharamshala.
• Counter China:
  • By laying an emphasis on cultural and civilisational ties, India seeks to promote greater understanding and cooperation between nations and to demonstrate the unique role India can play in shaping the region’s future.
• Promote tourism:
  • India is currently home to seven of the most significant Buddhist sites in the world. This offers immense tourism potential for India.

INDIAN EFFORTS:

• Panchamrit principles:
  • The government adopted the Panchamrit principles to guide its foreign policy, in actively promoting India’s image as a rising global power. The fifth of these five principles is sanskriti evam sabhyata (cultural and civilisational links), which expresses the government’s desire to leverage India’s rich historical cultural links with other countries as a part of its non-coercive soft power strategy.

• Symbolic gestures:
  • Prime Minister Modi has made it a point to make Buddhism a regular feature of his diplomatic visits. For instance,
    • In speeches made on official international visits such as to Sri Lanka and China, among others, PM has made a conscious effort to emphasise shared Buddhist heritage.
    • On trips to foreign countries, the PM reserves one day for visits to Buddhist temples wherever possible.
• Establishment of Nalanda University:
  • The Nalanda University was launched as a pan-Asian initiative funded by numerous countries and envisioned as the centre-piece of Asian civilization, to focus on the process of Asian renaissance, for reconnecting Asian people and societies, and for reconstructing Asian values and ethos for the long-term benefit of Asia, and indeed the world.
• Other academic Initiatives:
  • Besides the international summit on Buddhism in 2023, government has organised several conferences that attracted global audience, such as the ‘Buddhism in the 21st Century’ conference at Rajgir in 2017 and ‘5th International Buddhist Conclave’ in Varanasi in 2016.
• Buddhist tourist circuit:
  • The Buddhist Circuit is a trail of the sacred footsteps of Lord Buddha and the important places of his life and teachings. It includes the most important pilgrimage destinations for Buddhist tourists.
  • The development of the Buddhist Circuit is a part of the Swadesh Darshan Scheme.
  • The Buddhist circuit as envisioned by the ministry of tourism includes Kapilavastu and Lumbini in Nepal, Shravasthi, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Rajgir, Vaishali, and Bodhgaya in India.

CHALLENGES:

• Competition with China:
  • India and China are competing to dominate the Buddhist heritage as a tool for soft power. However, China has made significant inroads in this regard.
  • Eg: China is actively seeking to exert control over the appointment of the next Dalai Lama, which would be a blow to India’s efforts to project its soft power through Buddhism.
• Tensions in India-China relations:
  • Given that the Chinese state regards the Dalai Lama and his followers to be of an “anti-China splittist nature” that threatens Chinese sovereignty, this has been a source of contention between the two countries.
• Low tourist inflow:
  • Despite being home to a number of key Buddhist sites, such as Bodhgaya, Sarnath, and Kushinagar, India has struggled to attract Buddhist tourists, who tend to favour sites in Thailand and Cambodia.
• Issues in Nalanda University:
  • The lack of full-time faculty adequate infrastructure is plaguing the hopes of a successful revival of the ancient centre of learning.

WAY FORWARD:

• To further strengthen its Buddhist diplomacy, India should continue promoting Buddhism at the highest levels of government and strengthen ties with key Buddhist institutions and leaders around the world.
• India needs to utilise the reach of Bollywood in promoting its Buddhist heritage.
• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) could play a significant role in promoting such events within and outside India.
• India’s G-20 presidency this year could be used to promote Buddhist diplomacy on a bigger scale through various cultural meetings, especially as Buddhist teachings align with the motto of India’s G-20 presidency, ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.
• The government must move beyond tokenism and leverage its abundance of resources by way of pilgrimage sites and the presence of the Dalai Lama. The ‘Incredible India’ campaign and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) could play a significant role in promoting such effort within and outside India.
• The government must also ensure that it does not direct its efforts solely at Tibetan Buddhism, and make directed attempts at promoting connections with other Buddhist schools of thought.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. “Buddhism was India’s ancient geopolitical tool that could still be employed to meet the challenges of the new millennium”. Analyse.