Justice Katju, Salman Rushdie and the Jaipur Lit Fest

Press Council of India chairman, Markenday Katju's observation that Salman Rushdie is a "poor" and "sub-standard" writer generated considerable debates over the last three days. While Justice Katju was voicing his own opinion on Rushdie's writing (I remain a Rushdie fan) he raised interesting questions about the Jaipur literary festival.

'Jaipur Lit Fest' (JLF) as it is popularly called has become a platform for India' public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy initiatives in the recent times. However, Justice Katju observed that during the festival,

"there was not enough serious discussion about indigenous literature at the festival, naming Kabir, Premchand, Sharat Chandra, Ghalib and Faiz as writers whose works could have been discussed."

Justice Katju criticised educated Indians and stated that they “suffer from the colonial inferiority complex” and have a fascination for writers (Indian origin writers) based out of London or New York. I had written a post on the CPD Blog of USC Annenberg where I talked about the potential of India' regional literature to influence global popular culture . Justice Katju's observations are significant in the context of the participation of the state in discourses in such platforms. He may not be off the mark completely. I subscribe to the Hindustan Times, which among other thing, boasts of an edit team with 'evolved literary sensibilities'. The newspaper has dedicated a separate section for the Lit Fest and unfortunately most of the writers featured there happen to be the "Indian origin writer from the East Coast" or foreign writers of repute. Considering the fact that JLF is a media spectacle it is not surprising. However, does Indian literature stop at that? How are we looking at JLF to tell India's story from a public diplomacy perspective?

Nonetheless, to be fair to Hindustan Times, I was glad to read Amit Chaudhuri's comments on the Rushdie controversy and JLF in the opinion pages today. Commenting on the very closed world of Indian liberals, Chaudhuri observed,

"Liberalism is not just a matter of solidarity, but of an openness to people, even strangers, of disparate social backgrounds, who haven't necessarily been domesticated into the mainstream, and who come together out of a shared respect for the realm of ideas. One has to admit that this isn't the case in India; that our liberals are too over-familiar with one another, and comfortably so. An idea of freedom that emerges out of a closed world, from a sense of entitlement rather than from constant intellectual striving, can experience its crises with only so much urgency."

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

‘New Urban Cultures’ strengthen ties between Spain and India

The Government of Spain's Ministry of Culture - Casa Asia, the Cervantes Institute and the Spanish embassy in New Delhi joined hands to promote the Spanish 'cultural industries' in India through the third edition of “New Urban Cultures” programme. The two-day event that took place on Dec 17^th & 18th represented the best possible amalgamation of Indian and Spanish culture in fashion, video games, sports, music, design, gastronomy and films. The program showcases the diversity and creativity inherent in Spanish culture to young Indians and encourages a dialogue and exchange between professionals, designers and artists in the 'national cultural industries' of both countries. The program seeks to take advantage of India's growing  political and cultural clout in the international arena, and a growing interest about the world among Indians, to create a forum that  can explore  possibilities of 'cultural industries'  in these countries to collaborate.

The first day started with the dialogue on ‘Fashion and Design’ by designer Ritu Kumar, Spanish artist Agatha Ruiz de la Prada and hosted by Jivi Sethi. On the occasion, an exhibition of Agatha Prada's graphic work from diverse fields such as marketing communications to fashion was inaugurated. It was followed by a dialogue on ‘Video games and Digital content’ by Xavier Carrillo, CEO of Digital Legends and Vishal Gondal, CEO of Indiagames, hosted by Iván F. Lobo, president of the academy of Arts and Interactive Sciences in Spain and director of Gamelab Barcelona. The last talk of the day ‘Gastronomy’ was presented by José Luis Galiana of Basque Culinary Center, the first university-level education centre in Gastronomic Sciences in Europe.

L to R:  Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Jivi Sethi and Ritu Kumar at the exhibition 'Carteles''  

The second day of the event highlighted the film and music industry of both the countries. Young and notable directors Raj Kumar Gupta (Aamir, 2008 and No one killed Jessica, 2007) and Kike Maíllo (Eva, 2011) talked about the new filmmaking trends in Spain and  India. Music was the final treat of the programme that included a concert by the emerging group Fuel Fandango that played pop music mixed with flamenco sounds.  Another highlight of the two day event was a performance by Sunny Singh, the founder of first professional bollywood dance company in Europe ‘Bailamos Bollywood.’

Speaking on the occassion, Juan José Herrera de la Muela, director-general of Casa Asia said, “India is the subject of utmost interest in Spanish foreign action programmes, and the promotion of the cultural industries in India, along with the development of education, culture and the economy is a priority for Casa Asia.”

Casa Asia is a public diplomacy institution formed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Spanish Government, the Generalitat of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council and Madrid City Council. Its mission is to promote knowledge concerning Asia in Spain and to foster relations between the civil societies of Spain and Asian countries. 

-- Madhur

'Emotional connect' in the elections in Egypt

So we all know the results of the elections in Egypt. Muslim Brotherhood leads with radical Salafists coming a close second. In fact Islamist parties cornered two-thirds of the votes in the elections. On March 21, 2011, I had clearly written in my blog that it is too early to write off Islam as a political force as a result of the Arab Spring. In a bit of kamikaze thinking, I also applied the Gartner Hype Cycle to explain why religion might become central to Arab political discourse after the Arab Spring. You can read the post here - Revolutions and emotions in Middle East.   By this time we also know that Tunisia has turned 'green' and Libya intends to do so as well. 

History has showed us time and again that revolutions often lead to 'millenarian' expectations that often results in it becoming reactionary or throwing up results that maybe unanticipated. This is not to suggest that the victory of Islamists is a reactionary development; it might be good for those countries and the world in general. They were elected by a democratic process. Just that we don't know yet.

Religion is emotional and appeals to the heart and so has wider appeal than political concepts. It can be felt and doesn't need to be learnt unlike a political concept. Besides, religion promises final salvation, the education and training for which begins at home. It is also not alien and is instead steeped in the local customs, culture and folklore. It is familiar, pure and can be trusted. It is what in communications we call the 'emotional connect.' In societies where religion has always been central it is no surprise that people have expressed their faith in Islamists. Congratulations to the people of Egypt for successfully electing a government of their choice!

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

No Child Born To Die

I am currently involved in another advocacy project that aims to use social media to mobilize Indian citizens. This Right to Health campaign was inaugurated by acclaimed Indian actor Shabana Azmi, who is also the ambassador for the NGO, Save The Children that's running the campaign called "No Child Born To Die."

International NGOs seem to have more faith in the power of social media than most private sector companies. More than generating awareness, these campaigns are used mostly to build a soft pressure on the policymakers and government from the Indian middle class in urban areas. The No Child Born To Die campaign hopes to create a people's movement to demand better healthcare facilities for every mother and child in India by increasing the share of budget allocation for healthcare to 5% of GDP, from the current 1.1%.

The campaign runs on a webportal where one can sign up to show support for the cause. More the sign-ups the better it is. It will run parallel with a focused publicity campaign leading up to the Union budget 2012, demanding increased spend on healthcare by the Government of India. Last week, to give the campaign action a wider visibility among public and media in New Delhi, India, Save the Children showcased people’s support on a huge screen, 60 feet by 50 feet, mounted at the Statesman House, a landmark building, in the heart of New Delhi. This was a first of its kind stunt by an NGO in India.

Wall of Fame at Statesman House, New Delhi

The need for this campaign was felt given the following alarming statistics on healthcare in India:

1. Every 20 seconds, a child is dying in India due to PREVENTABLE diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia. 
2. India has the highest number of children dying, more than anywhere in the world.
3. These children are dying even before they are five years old. According to a report prepared by Save The Children, every year, 1.73 million children die in India even before the age of five. And nearly one million of them die within the first month of their life. 
4. India ranks lowest in public healthcare spending. South Asian neighbors like Nepal & Bangladesh spend more than India on healthcare.
5. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that all developing countries must allocate five per cent of GDP on health. India's current spend is only 1.2 per cent with a goal to increase it to 2.7 per cent by 2017.

Do support the cause.

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Survey of attitudes by India's PD division

The Public Diplomacy division of Government of India in collaboration with the Center for Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania, is conducting a survey of attitudes with regard to India's foreign policy. It is a survey of 'elite attitudes' - given that fact that it is a survey of international relations faculty in Indian academic institutions - and is a first of its kind exercise undertaken by the PD division.

It is currently also being conducted at the first National Conference on International Relations - Shifting Sands: India in the Changing Global Order, in New Delhi, India. The introduction to the survey states, 

"... there is relatively little understanding about what Indians take to be the nature of international politics, and correspondingly, how their power and influence should be used. This survey seeks to help better understand Indian attitudes on the role of power, order, force and justice in international politics. How will the interplay of long-held beliefs, India's vision of itself, the rise of new actors and institutions and India's changing relationship with the West influence India's worldview and role in global affairs?"

It will be interesting to see the results of this survey, which has good news potential as well. The conference in itself is a first time initiative by the PD division to create a forum for Indian academics, policymakers and practitioners of international relations to meet, network and exchange ideas.

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Guest Post: Public Diplomacy researchers from USC to visit India

By Maya Babla

         This December, a group of seven graduate students from the Master of Public Diplomacy program at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism in Los Angeles will embark on a journey to India. We will visit New Delhi and Mumbai, meeting with a range of stakeholders interested in how this global player is positioning itself to foreign and domestic audiences. 

         Our research will assess the role of each of these actors: public, private, and nonprofit, as well as media and academia—and seeks to understand how they create the public diplomacy ecosystem in India. We will survey a wide range of ‘diplomacies’—from cultural to economic to citizen-powered initiatives—to understand how each of these is contributing to communicating the idea of India. Along the way, we'll be reporting on our findings through the project’s website, India: Inside Out. The objective of the website is to spark a larger dialogue on the relevance and value of public diplomacy within the international affairs and communications communities, but we invite those from all fields to participate. 

      As part of the team, I started the conversation last week by offering my own definition of public diplomacy. In the coming weeks, each of the members of the India: Inside Out team will be writing about our particular research areas before our trip, our impressions of India upon our arrival, and once we’ve delved in, our analysis of what that public diplomacy ecosystem looks like.

-- Maya Babla, Master of Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California

Maya Babla is a student and researcher at USC's Public Diplomacy program. This December she will lead a USC delegation to study India's PD efforts.

* Guests posts are opinions of respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Public Diplomacy Blog. They are published here as a part of the blog's mission to create a forum for discussion on Public Diplomacy.

The "India is ……." Global Video Contest

New Delhi, Sept 30, 2011 (News Release): The Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi, is launching a global initiative called the “India is ………. “, aimed at encouraging individuals and countries around the world to think of India in interesting, pervasive and positive ways.  For this purpose, a Global Video contest is being organized on the following three themes: 

( i )                India is …………….. Colourful

( ii )              India is …………….. Creative

( iii )            India is …………….. Wherever You are

2.        Under this programme, a 3 minute video film about India on one of the above mentioned themes is being invited from anyone interested in participating in the programme.  Detailed information on the programme, including rules and regulations as also the procedure to participate is available on the website www.indiais.org,

3.        The programme will run from from October 1 – December 31, 2011.  

4.        Ministry of External Affairs will be organizing an event in March 2013 where the winning entries will be recognized and will be rewarded suitably.  You are invited to take part in this very interesting programme along with your family, friends and colleagues.  

Find details of the contest in the following video created by the PD division:

                                         

Also check my recent piece - Communicating the Idea of India - for CPD Blog at USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School.


Suggestions/Critiques welcome.


-- Madhur