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10. Indian Interactions in East Asia
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Chapter
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157 10 INDIAN INTERACTIONS IN EAST ASIA Arun Mahizhnan INTRODUCTION ProfessorWangGungwu’scommentsinthisvolumenotonlyprovidea brilliantoverviewofthehistoricalperspectiveoftheIndiandiasporabut alsosetthetoneforacomparativebasisindealingwiththisphenomenonby frequentlyreferringtoChinaandthehistoriographyoftheChinesediaspora. InthecontextofEastAsia,onecanhardlydiscussIndia,Indiancivilization orIndiandiasporawithoutinevitablybeingcomparedwithChina,Chinese civilisationorChinesediaspora.Thereareusefulparallelsanddivergencesin theirdistinctbutinter-connectedhistoriesthatarevaluabletobearinmind inthinkingofthefutureoftheIndiandiasporainEastAsia. ThischaptersfocusesonafewaspectsoftheIndiancharacterthatcan bothenrichandbeenrichedbyitsinteractionwiththeEastAsiancultures. ItsuggestsafewwaysinwhichIndianscouldcontributetoabetterlifefor others,afewwaysinwhichIndianscouldbettertheirownlifeandalsoa fewwaysinwhichIndianscouldcalibratetheirIndian-ness. WHAT INDIANS CAN CONTRIBUTE ManypapersinthisvolumeaddressthegrowthandimpactofIndia’seconomic andpoliticalpower.Itwouldbehelpfultointroduceanotherdimensionto thediscussionofIndiaandEastAsia.ItiswhatHarvardpoliticalscientist JosephNyehadchristenedas“softpower”.Hedefinessoftpoweras 10RisingIndia.indd157 8/19/087:53:31PM 158 Arun Mahizhnan theabilitytogetwhatyouwantthroughattractionratherthancoercion orpayments.Whenyoucangetotherstowantwhatyouwant,youdo nothavetospendasmuchonsticksandcarrotstomovetheminyour direction.Hardpower,theabilitytocoerce,growsoutofacountry’s militaryandeconomicmight.Softpowerarisesfromtheattractiveness ofacountry’sculture,politicalideals,andpolicies.1 ThoughthereisvoluminousliteratureonIndia’simpactonSoutheast Asiainthepast,notmuchhasbeenwrittenaboutthecurrentimplications ofthesoftpowerIndiahaswieldedoverthecenturiesacrossSoutheastAsia. Itisanareaofstudythatshouldbeencouragedasitholdsmanyvaluable lessonsforIndia’sfutureroleinthisregionaswellasontheglobalstage. Letustouchonthepastbrieflyandsuggestsomefutureopportunities relatingtoIndiansoftpower.InallofSoutheastAsia,noothercountry’s cultureorcivilizationhashadasextensiveorasdeeporaslonganeffect asIndia’s.Andevenmoreremarkably,sucheffecthasbeenachievedmostly throughpeacefulmeansinsteadofmilitarymightorcommercialcunning. TheIndianinfluenceinSoutheastAsiapredatesEuropeaninfluencebyat leasta1,000yearsandtheeffectispersistenteventoday. While there is much debate about whether the Indian ideas were merelyadoptedpassivelyoradaptedwithmuchcircumspectionandselectivity, thereislittledoubtabouttheextentoftheirinfluenceinSoutheastAsia. AmitavAcharya,inhis(forthcoming)paperon“The‘Indianizationof SoutheastAsia’Revisited:Initiative,AdaptationandTransformationin ClassicalCivilizations”statesthatthisprocess“probablycountsasthesingle mostextensivecaseofpacificspreadofideasinthehistoryofcivilization: thetransmissionofIndianreligiousandpoliticalideastoSoutheastAsia duringthepre-colonialperiod”.Thisisanextraordinaryachievementby anymeasure. ButwhatwerethefactorsthatenabledsuchaprojectionofIndian softpowerandarethosefactorsstillavailabletoIndia?Attheriskofoversimpli fication,itcouldbearguedthatancientIndiaofferedexceptionally attractivepolitical,socialandculturalvaluesystemsthatwonoverboththe eliteandthemassesinthesecountries.Insomecases,itwasthesuperior statecraftasinKautilya’sArthasastra.Insomecases,itwasanextensiveand sophisticatedlegalsystemasinManu’sManusmrti.Or,insomecases,the sheerimaginationandstorytellingpowerasinMahabharataandRamayana, aswellasthecompellingsocialvaluesembeddedinthem.Therearemany moresuchexamplesofIndianideasthathavespreadacrossSoutheastAsia, contributingtothe“Indianization”ofSoutheastAsia.Thequestionnowis: 10RisingIndia.indd158 8/19/087:53:31PM [3.238.161.165] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 03:14 GMT) Indian...