Five major literature festivals - the Jaipur Literature Festival, Mountain Echoes in Bhutan, the Kathmandu Literary Yatra, the Galle Literary Festival in Sri lanka and the Karachi Literature Festival - which have been showcasing literature as a medium of holistic exchange together with music, performing and visual arts and local lifestyles are forging a new south Asian solidarity on the strength of the region's soft power.

India’s policy towards Afghanistan is the embodiment of the ‘soft power approach’. Soft power, in the crude sense, is the capacity of a state to influence others without twisting arms, threatening or compelling; in other words, it is the capacity to attract the target people and make them do your bidding.

The Indian Council of Cultural Relations, which has brought the play to India, said in a statement: "The Afghan actors in the play are hoping to redefine Shakespeare - and public perception about theatre in Afghanistan by performing the play."

India has reached out to Africa with an initiative to foster a People-to-People (P2P) understanding with Africa. “With 70 per cent of the population in Africa and India below the age of 25, promoting engagement between youth in Africa and India is imperative to pave the way for a shared future," said Navdeep Suri, the Joint Secretary, Public Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs, India.

Kuwaiti artistes mesmerized Indian audience in New Delhi at the “Kuwaiti Cultural Week”...It was jointly organized by the Kuwaiti embassy and the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) to celebrate the strong ties between the two nations. The event was attended by diplomats from various Gulf countries, journalists from both Kuwait and India, academicians, scholars and other dignitaries.

According to Ambassador Pinak Chakravarty , India is entering a new phase in her ties with Africa. From a shared history of struggle against colonial oppression and economic exploitation to achieve freedom, they are now poised to take a great leap in developing partnership. The new relationship is based on economic partnership in a globalized, deeply interconnected world.

Over the years, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations has sent me to many countries to perform. Unlike professional engagements...the ICCR tours usually put you directly in the hands of Indian ambassadors in various countries, who then use you as best they think, besides having certain fixed arrangements at festivals.

The festival, now in its second year, is a joint production of the Indian Embassy in Israel and Teamwork Productions, an event management and entertainment company with offices in Delhi, Hong Kong, Singapore and London. In its sophomore year, the festival is marking a special milestone: 20 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel. With events in art, culture, music, film and food, the festival’s producers hope to nurture the two nations’ evolving friendship, aiding the Indian Embassy in Israel in what Ila Gupta of Teamwork calls “soft diplomacy.”