Academic literature on the topic 'Nehru and Modi on federalism'

Abstract The election of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, with a clear-cut majority for his nativist, Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), marked a watershed in Indian politics. This chapter traces the evolution of Indian soft power since the premiership of Jawaharlal Nehru, who, as the country’s first prime minister, situated Indian soft power as a primarily secular tool that sought to capitalize on the country’s civilizational heritage rather than its religious traditions. However, under Modi, India has chosen to utilize and emphasize particular religious traditions in its soft-power strategy, including Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Ultimately, India’s attempts to burnish its global image through the use of religious soft power will be tarnished because of its sharp turn toward illiberalism under Modi and its mistreatment of religious minorities, particularly Muslims.

Abstract This chapter traces the evolution of India’s foreign policy since Independence to the present day. It argues that the country’s foreign policy had a distinctly idealistic bent in its initial phases with a clear-cut commitment to decolonization, global nuclear disarmament, a commitment to multilateral diplomacy and the reduction of global inequalities. During this initial phase the theory and practice of nonalignment was one of its key foreign policy lodestars. Following the death of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, the country maintained a rhetorical commitment to most of these goals. However, for all practical purposes its pursuit of these objectives waned. At the Cold War’s end, the country started to move away from its hoary commitment to nonalignment and increasingly came embrace the role of material power in international affairs. Most recently, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country has adopted a more unabashed pursuit of what it deems to be its national interests even while using some language calling for the creation of a more equitable global order.

From being a land of multitudinous civilizations to its rise as a potential superpower, New India has come a long way and has innumerable things to offer. The resurgence of politics, culture and economy has brought a Renaissance in a real sense. Advocating the politics of cooperative federalism, inclusivity and representative government on the twin foundations of social justice and equality, India has outdone itself in the past few years. Culturally, on the other hand the world has witnessed the rise of India as a "Vishwa Guru" bringing yoga, Ayurveda and Vedantic wisdom to the forefront along with emerging as the hub of knowledge and innovation. This kind of holistic political and cultural renaissance is also interrelated to India on the course of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy in the coming decades. The bold policy decisions of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi with regard to India's friendship with countries of West Asia, Japan, Africa had also acted as a precursor to various opportunities in fields like trade, investment opportunities, tourism and cultural ties. Thus, the paper would focus upon the interrelationship of politics, culture and economy with the revival of India's culture, democratic governance and economic structure which can be called as Renaissance. This Renaissance with National Democratic Alliance coming to power in 2014 is not only the recounting of memory but also an emergence of a new kind of consciousness with regard to history and of social cultural and political identity, that is arising out of New India.