India’s Global and Cultural Heritage

By Ambassador Bhaswati Mukherjee

INDIA’S cultural and civiliza­tional heritage is her gift to the world. An understanding of what our culture and civiliza­tion would take us on a historical journey into our past.

Any serious discussion must begin with EH Carr In ‘What is History’ Carr concludes:

“History is a continuous pro­cess of interaction between the historian and his facts, an unend­ing dialogue between the present and past, a dynamic, dialectical process, which cannot be limited by mere empiricism or love of facts alone”.

Another aspect is the inter­linkage between culture and impe­rialism in the 19th century. Dr Ed­ward W Said noted in his seminal work on ‘Culture and Imperialism’:

“Partly because of empire, all cultures are involved in one another; none is single and pure, all are hybrid, heterogeneous, dif­ferentiated and un-monolithic”.

This is an excellent definition of our own culture.

Efforts were made to belittle or downgrade our heritage after the arrival of the Dutch, Portu­guese, French and British to India. This was the age of colonialism and imperialism. Dr Said noted the notion of inferior races helped fuel the imperial acquisition of territory during this period. The culture of imperialism entailed venerating the colonialist’s culture to the ex­clusion of other cultures, a notion completely antithetical to the In­dian approach.

One of the most authoritative works of AL Basham, ‘The Wonder that was India’, rejects the ear­lier Western interpretation that Indian civilisation is un-political, spiritual and unchanging, i.e. In­dian civilisation itself is static and non-dynamic. Basham demon­strates that India has a dynamic civilization and cultural heritage. India’s oral traditions also made an important contribution.

The civilisation that devel­oped in the Valleys of the two great river systems, the Indus and the Ganges, although in a sharply demarcated geographical region due to the Himalayas, was never an isolated civilisation. Settlers and traders came to India from the land and sea routes from the East and West. As a great mari­time power, India also travelled East and West.

This resulted in the devel­opment of a complex pattern of multi-dimensional culture, demon­strated in art and cultural tradi­tions from Ancient to Modern In­dia, whether the dancing Buddhas of the Gandharva school of art, which was strongly influenced by the Greeks, to the great temples of North and South India.

The Aryan period saw the de­velopment of Vedic literature as well as the Puranas. The earliest literary source was the Rig Veda and the two epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Ancient Indian architecture and sculpture were dynamic, not static. Due to cross-fertilization of culture, India’s ancient culture did not perish with the coming of the Muslim invaders.

Ancient Indian culture was severely impacted by invasions from Muslim invaders from the 10th century onwards. These inva­sions destroyed many elements of our ancient culture. They resulted in barbaric acts such as attacks on temples, including multiple at­tacks and the destruction of the famous Somnath temple.

Later, the Indo-Islamic Mughal architecture and minia­ture paintings evolved as an ex­ample of India’s syncretic culture. The most fascinating aspect of medieval history is the develop­ment of the Indo-Islamic style in art and architecture, through the adaptation of Indian resources, ex­pertise, designs and motifs. What developed in Mughal times was an eclectic pattern of culture, of which the Taj Mahal remains the finest example.

It is important to recognize that India’s culture and civilization are a gift to her Diaspora. India is a multi-cultural state. With the contribution and partnership with its huge Diaspora, Indian culture has emerged as a force to connect, to build relations and to heal the ruptures created by history and politics.

It is internationally recog­nised that one of India’s signifi­cant global contributions has been its ancient cultural and civilisa­tional partnerships. ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ from the Maha Upanishads was among the first precursors of global citizenship as it is understood today.

‘Udara charitanama tu,

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.

It means that it is only for the generous-hearted that the world is one family. It forms the basis of UNESCO’s ongoing dialogue between cultures, religions and civilizations.

India’s vibrant cultural and civilisational heritage, through her Diaspora, has spread worldwide. It serves as a powerful reminder that India’s values of tolerance, in­clusiveness and cross-fertilization of cultures, which are an intrinsic part of our civilization, are more relevant than ever before in the emerging, chaotic global disorder.

Cultural diplomacy now plays an important role in the dissemi­nation of these values. Indian arts, culture and spiritualism have at­tracted people from all around the world for centuries.

Indian spirituality has had a global presence for centuries. One of its important manifestations in today’s world is the large number of Yoga centres spread across the world. At the personal initiative of PM Modi, soon after his first election in 2014, the UN General Assembly recognized 21st June as International Day of Yoga. Cul­ture and cultural diplomacy have emerged as the force to connect, to build bilateral relations and to heal the ruptures created by history and politics.

Most challenging is how do we preserve that culture? It is a living culture and can only survive if nurtured and strengthened by successive generations, including our Diaspora. Indeed, unless we present our civilisation and cultur­al heritage in a manner which is both comprehensible and attrac­tive to young India, this heritage cannot survive.

Our composite culture is our gift to the world. It reflects the evolution of our own history, the manner in which India seamlessly absorbed other cultures but never lost her own.

I had recently visited Vishwa Bharati University, Shantiniketan and read Gurudev’s inspirational message at the entrance, which still resonates today.

Gurudev said:

“India represents the wealth of the mind, which is for all.

We acknowledge India’s obli­gation to offer to others the hospi­tality of her best culture.

And India’s right to accept from others their best.”

We have done so and will con­tinue to do so for generations to come. That is why we are Bharat, that is India.

(Views expressed in the ar­ticle solely belong to the author.)