On International Yoga Day, I attended a conference on soft power, cinema and the BRICS, at the University of Leeds. Commentators often contend that Bollywood is a major source of soft power, one that the government neglects. So why hasn’t the BJP embraced Bollywood for the purposes of soft power projection? Perhaps the most successful form of soft power for the government has been ‘Yoga Day’. But has yoga’s soft power efficacy been tested with overseas consumers, or is it more about mobilising domestic Indian opinion, strengthening national unity, with soft power merely a spin-off?

Source: Hindustan Times July 01, 2017 09:56 UTC