International Yoga Day- A Short Story from India

In the quest to shape our personal identity, it always becomes necessary to define certain collective values. And our values are shaped by the circumstances we live in and the experiences that influence us. Therefore, while we evolve as human beings, not only do we constantly evolve our ideologies, but also, write newer stories. From elderly dying person to a new born child, everyone has a story to tell. Stories fascinate us. They make us, who we are.

Since, human beings are the primary elements of all nation states, countries, too, therefore, share elements of our inherent human tendencies. From our foreign policies to diplomatic legacies, we build an image of ourselves that we choose to tell the world about. Therefore, every nation, too, has a story to tell. And these human tales of shared culture, feelings and tender emotions, bring us closer to each other beyond boundaries, nationalities and community differences.

International Yoga Day

The 21 of June has been unanimously declared by the United Nations general Assembly as the ‘International Yoga Day’ on December 11, 2015. The date was particularly suggested by the present Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, while speaking of the significance of the date for being the longest day of the year.  While addressing the general assembly, he remembered yoga s an invaluable tradition of the ancient lineage of India.  He stressed upon the philosophical influence of the practice that was much beyond a simple exercise for physical fitness. The idea was stressed upon the achievement of mental emancipation and seeking oneness of the body and the mind through the spiritual inclinations of yoga.

The intention behind the very conception of the day, was not just to build a network of solidarity amongst the idea of ‘Indian Nationhood’ but also to initiate a message to the world  bringing attention towards the cultural identity of India and her gift of rich history.  As the government, seeks to create a Brand India, for the world to reckon with, yoga, indeed, comes as a convenient choice.

For the world, India represents a few catch words- Mysticism, spiritualism, non violence, tolerance, vegetarianism, Gandhi, yoga and backpackers[1] and Beatles.[2] Under the circumstances, as the country opens up to the world for trade and relations, the market seems more attractive than ever before amidst the varying demands of a multicultural society.  Yoga stands, then, as that interesting brand for the world that now views fitness as a trend to follow. Global celebrities, leaders and common people internationally practice yoga and it is more popular than we can think.  Hence, choosing to reclaim the heritage of this brand of yoga and marketing its reach to expand the influence of the Indian culture was a crafty and well perceived idea for the propagation of the Indian story.

The Era of Soft Power

Professor Joseph Nye of Harvard University had brought forth the theory of ‘soft power’ to discuss the modern practice of diplomacy worldwide. He stresses on the fact, that modern nations have overgrown the primitive forms of warfare, loss of lives, and mindless killings, which, ultimately, happen to cause much more harm than good. Instead, a psychological impact of a particular country’s propaganda creates an impression that lasts much longer and impacts human beings irrespective of boundaries and classes. For instance, the United States of America lost the war in Vietnam. However, today, America has much more impact upon Vietnamese minds through Hollywood films, Mc Donald’s burgers and the sheer glamour of the country.  Likewise, in Afghanistan, at the peak of Taliban occupation, families hid their television sets and watched ‘Titanic’ film and  an entire city, came to be known as the ‘Titanic City’ and that is the kind of influence which English films had on people.  Much like, Tulsi (Smriti Irani), had become a household name amongst the afghan families and they would not miss a single episode of her popular television serial. Weddings would often be interrupted allow the guest watch the show that was dubbed in Dari language, from Hindi. The crime rates particularly went up, around the time when the show aired because no one would be paying attention to anything beyond their television sets. And such is the outreach of soft power! We do not realise and the culture of another identity invades our minds and we get colonised.

[1] Arundhati Roy, octor and the Saint,(Navyana,2014) 22

[2]  The means to World Politics, Joseph Nye, <http://www.belfercenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/files/joe_nye_wielding_soft_power.pdf> ,  o4/05/20014, Accessed, 20/6/2017

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Written by

Ujjaini Chatterji
Student, Symbiosis Law School, Noida
Asst. Managing Editor, Editorial Committee,
Section for Law Students, Indian National Bar Associon