India’s civilisational discourse resonates across the Indian Ocean Region

India’s civilisational discourse resonates across the Indian Ocean Region

The consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22 is a landmark event for India. This event is not just religious but has several undertones that cut across different perspectives, such as historical, political, and social. However, the Ram Temple is also fast assuming a geopolitical character, which is reflected in the developments of the Indian Ocean Region.

The Indian Ocean Region is already in turmoil due to the Israel-Hamas war and its spillover effects as the Houthis are attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea.

The geopolitics of this region are further thrown into flux due to the India-Maldives row. With Mohamed Muizzu, a pro-China leader, in power, India-Maldives ties have deteriorated dramatically in the last month. Muizzu’s unequivocal anti-India stance is rapidly increasing threat perception for India in the Indian Ocean Region, as the risk of the Maldives ceding ground to China in India’s neighbourhood is very high.

The friction between India and the Maldives could generally be considered as falling mostly within the realm of strategic competition in a geopolitical space. However, this row also has a civilizational undertone.

Not only is Muizzu anti-India, he also tilts towards conservative ideology and radical Islam. The Maldives, a Muslim-majority country, has seen a surge of radical elements in its society since about a decade and a half ago.

The radicalisation in the Maldives is in stark contrast to the celebration of inclusive civilisational ethos and taking pride in one’s own culture without demeaning others’ beliefs that is happening with the construction of the Ram Temple in India.

This civilisational undertone is further pronounced when Mauritius, with an almost 50 per cent Hindu population, declared a two-hour break to all Hindu officials on January 22, when the consecration of Ram Temple is scheduled to take place in India. Mauritius government has even termed the consecration a global event.

Mauritius’ overtures not only celebrate the shared cultural values with India, but they also underscore the island nation’s support for India in the Indian Ocean Region. Mauritius, an African island country located in the southern Indian Ocean, is geopolitically important for India in its outreach to the Indian Ocean Region as well as Africa. While India has accelerated its engagements with African countries in the Indian Ocean Region in the past decade, Mauritius was one of the first countries that India reached out to for strategic cooperation.

It was in Mauritius in 2015 that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined India’s vision for the Indian Ocean Region, which is termed as SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region).

Mauritius’ cultural overtures also have a subtle hint of attracting Indian tourists, as they are likely to think of options other than the Maldives for holidays. While Lakshadweep may be gaining traction after Prime Minister Narendra Modi endorsed it as a tourist destination, it could take time for Lakshadweep to develop into a full-fledged tourist destination like the Maldives. Identifying this scope, Mauritius has subtly pitched itself as an alternative to the Maldives. Besides, Mauritius’ appeal to Hindu culture is also a counter to the Maldives’ growing Islamic radicalisation.

Apart from Mauritius, India’s civilisational connection was evident when it held a naval exercise with Thailand in December 2023, which was named Ex-Ayutthaya. The Thai city of Ayutthaya identifies itself culturally with India’s Ayodhya. Several Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia, relate to Indian culture, particularly the Ramayana and Mahabharata. India, for its part, has always stressed these soft power connections. However, India has also been mindful of developing strong strategic connections as well. The Southeast Asian region has seen a blend of soft power and hard power in its cooperation with India.

Until now, soft power connections may have been only in the background of economic and strategic considerations. However, the cultural revival in India has led to this soft power seamlessly blending with hard power. In the case of Southeast Asian countries, the civilisational connection is to counter China’s assertive activities, in a way a traditional security threat. In the case of the Maldives, civilisational cooperation with Mauritius is a way to counter traditional security threats from China as well as non-traditional security threats in the form of terrorism emanating from radical tendencies in the Maldives. These developments imply that civilisational discourse is playing its part in shaping the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean Region.

The author is a political analyst and researcher based in Vadodara. His areas of specialisation include international relations, foreign policy and geopolitics. He tweets @NiranjanMarjani. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.

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