Carleton is the only university in the world to have a full-fledged India-centric Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy. Set up last year with Indian assistance, the Centre of Excellence aims to raise awareness about bilateral studies and public diplomacy...

Even non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the USA somehow influence the US citizens by projecting Indian power in the South Asian region. They use soft power i.e. colorful culture of India like yoga, films, and India shining publicity which covers up the rampant poverty, hunger, crime, human rights abuses especially in Kashmir and Naxalite-Maoist areas, Muslim massacre in Gujrat and Christian massacre in Orisa etc

India is planning a big cultural centre in Toronto along the lines of the famous Nehru Centre in London – the first of its kind in North America. The new cultural centre will be ready by next year to cater to the North America Indian diaspora. It is part of India’s thrust to use culture as a tool of its foreign policy.

Just as the American culture industries, especially Hollywood, were instrumental in constructing and disseminating the narrative about the attraction of the United States that helped make it the most influential player on the world stage in the 20th century, the rise in the popularity of Bollywood films could help to do the same for India in the 21st.

For years, it was the West that engaged with India. The rest of Asia chose to ignore it - it was a country they did not really understand or want to do business with. Now, because of its rapidly growing economy and increasing opportunities, India is home to sizeable numbers of Asians, especially Koreans and Japanese.

But why is branding important for countries in the first place? To quote Anholt, “In this era of globalization, people take decisions every day as to where to go on vacations, what music to listen to, what books to read. This impacts the future of countries. In such a situation the country’s reputation is very important.

One of India’s most famous painters, M.F. Husain, passed away Thursday in London in self-imposed exile, having left India after intimidation by Hindu groups offended by his work. His art and exile highlight recent challenges to freedom of expression that worry democracy activists here.

Perhaps the time has come for a frank Indo-Pak dialogue on Afghanistan. Situated by and large within a liberal democratic framework, South Asia can play a part in redeeming world Islam by its example, through imaginative Indian diplomacy and use of its considerable soft power.