Status Anxiety: A Transnational History of Indian Soft Power

Emerging from colonial rule in the mid-twentieth century, independent India confronted a question: how could a desperately poor, militarily weak democracy assert its deeply held sense of global importance? My research argues that Indian governments sought to address this conundrum by deploying cultural heritage to position itself as an unthreatening ancient civilization returning to prominence. Officials in independent India used cultural diplomacy to counteract the nation’s shortcomings in material and might, asserting a role as a postcolonial cultural power. My research project, spanning the 1950s to the present, will thread together an analysis of important but overlooked episodes—from delegations of classical dancers, to ‘Festivals of India’ in major international cities, to promoting yoga and Hindu spirituality globally. In doing so it will demonstrate how a young democracy sought to augment its march towards economic development through a transnational deployment of culture. Status Anxiety will offer a novel history of Indian soft power.