The ninth edition of the Delhi International Arts Festival opened with enchanting dance and cultural performances by national and international artistes.  [...] DIAF is seen as India’s signature arts and cultural festival which also provides a significant platform for cultural diplomacy, projecting India as a cultural powerhouse and enhancing diplomatic relations with other countries. 

Tully was in Agra for the SAARC Nations ​Summit organized by Folklore Research Academy (Amritsar) to give a lecture on challenges before South Asia and the role of India and Pakistan. [...] "Conflicts between two nations can only be solved ​by ​public diplomacy, in which citizens are given the right to decide."

India’s cultural capital is enough and more to not let Chinese Confucius institutes win the soft-power game. But, can [India] use it in the proper manner?

But, whereas this fits in with the larger patterns of Pakistan’s history, the emergence of a dynamic Indian honcho with the world in his fists is something Sharif could not have anticipated. If only Sharif knew how to take selfies and understood the intricacies of Snapchat.

The newspapers are packed with front page, head line stories of Prime Minister’s recent and successful visit to the West Coast of United States, where he professed his firm belief in ‘social media’ as the apt medium of the hour to connect people, build communities, local and global. 

Narendra Modi takes on Xi Jinping in a soft-power battle in America. “ANYTHING Xi can do, I can do better,” seemed to be the mantra of Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, as he toured America in late September, hot on the heels of China’s president, Xi Jinping.

Philanthropy, charity, giving—call it what you may—has more to it than social development and the self-satisfaction that philanthropists say they receive from giving […] Industry efforts at philanthropy are designed to address social ills but also stay focused on tying in the initiative with the company core, whether it be the need for innovation in agriculture or saving water.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi was visiting the US, we went on an ECFR study trip to New Delhi to ask ‘What does India think?’ […] The Modi government, unlike its predecessors, has been harnessing a source of soft power: the Indian diaspora. According to the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, India has the second-largest diaspora in the world, estimated at over 25 million. Roughly 1.5 million overseas Indians live in the UK and around 3.2 million in the US.