Around the globe, India has been known for its economic, military and nuclear power. Moreover, India has been largely known for its hard power. However, in recent years, there seems to be shift...Show moreAround the globe, India has been known for its economic, military and nuclear power. Moreover, India has been largely known for its hard power. However, in recent years, there seems to be shift towards soft power. The current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is a great advocate of soft power as can be seen in his implementation of soft power in his foreign policies. India’s soft power is a force to be reckoned with as it may even exceed the its hard power capabilities. From Bollywood to yoga to Buddhism, India’s soft power is making way for India to establish a diplomatic presence in the world order. Furthermore, its effects can be seen on the manner in which India implements and uses its foreign policy and diplomacy. Therefore, this Masters thesis will explore how the Indian government is using India’s soft power and how it has used it in the past, how it influences its foreign policy, and diplomacy strategy, why this shift occurred and how it has influenced its relations abroad.Show less
While its economy desperately needs investments in infrastructure and manufacturing, India not only refuses to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s massive regional interconnectivity...Show moreWhile its economy desperately needs investments in infrastructure and manufacturing, India not only refuses to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s massive regional interconnectivity project, but claims that it violates its sovereignty and serves only China’s power ambitions. Some Indian analysts even argue that by establishing naval facilities in the Indian Ocean and strengthening land connection between China and Pakistan, the BRI is part of China’s encirclement strategy against India. Others downplay such arguments as products of unfounded distrust. Following a structural realist approach to evaluate the BRI’s implications for the economic, military, and geopolitical balance of power between China and India, this thesis presents a more complex picture. It makes the case that the BRI indeed alters the relative distribution of power to China’s advantage, but both alarmist warnings about encirclement and optimistic hopes about the potential economic benefits are exaggerated or require stronger evidence.Show less
This thesis focuses on the acculturation of European mercenaries in the armies of Post-Mughal successor states at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. The thesis takes William...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the acculturation of European mercenaries in the armies of Post-Mughal successor states at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. The thesis takes William Dalrymple's "White Mughals" as a departure point and uses sources left behind by the mercenaries to test his hypothesis that these mercenaries generally acculturated into the societies of the post-Mughal successor states. However, through the analysis of these sources, this thesis argues that there was no acculturation to the degree Dalrymple argued present. Moreover, this thesis argues that there was an active segregation from Indians by most of the mercenaries, with an economic motive.Show less
This thesis defines slavery in eighteenth-century Cochin. By relying on courtcases and acts of transport, this thesis shows how slavery in eighteenth-century Cochin is connected with caste, VOC-law...Show moreThis thesis defines slavery in eighteenth-century Cochin. By relying on courtcases and acts of transport, this thesis shows how slavery in eighteenth-century Cochin is connected with caste, VOC-law and categorization, and local power structures.Show less
This thesis takes a twofold approach in analyzing development-induced displacement. Firstly, a historical overview is given of the different perspectives of key players in regard to dams. I do not...Show moreThis thesis takes a twofold approach in analyzing development-induced displacement. Firstly, a historical overview is given of the different perspectives of key players in regard to dams. I do not attempt to undermine the purposes of the dams nor do I attempt to discredit it. Instead, I delve deeper into the question of land acquisition and the Bills in India that facilitate it.Show less
This thesis aims to research the heightened presence of Hindu narratives on Indian television channels and how these Hindu narratives both emerge from and produce the rise of Hindu nationalist...Show moreThis thesis aims to research the heightened presence of Hindu narratives on Indian television channels and how these Hindu narratives both emerge from and produce the rise of Hindu nationalist sentiments. This question is answered by analysing the Hindu narratives in multiple sets of material across websites and news portals on the Hindu televangelist channel Aastha TV and the entertainment channel Star Plus India. My analysis is based on Roland Barthes' Mythologies from 1972, which I use to distinguish three separate concepts -consumption, culture, and politics- which I argue, contribute to these televised Hindu narratives. Both Aastha TV and Star Plus India spread Hindu narratives by normalising a standardised form of Hinduism in daily life: this religious interpretation of the Indian identity creates a foundation for Hindu nationalism. Both channels also focus on the middle class as their target audience, which is both financially capable of buying products from these channels and politically significant in their support for Hindu nationalism. While the emphasis on religious and moral practice of Aastha TV allows for the explicit promotion of Hindu nationalism, the focus of Star Plus India on leisure and entertainment creates a space for the implicit presence of Hinduism in daily life. Star Plus India provides the groundwork for Hindu nationalism through its implicit emphasis on Hinduism as a foundation for Indian norms and values in “soaps”. Aastha TV explicitly promotes Hindu nationalism through its nationalist rhetoric and its focus on Hindu traditions through its use of Hinduism as moral and religious guidelines. Thus, Hindu narratives are present on Indian television channels in different forms. These narratives provide a foothold for Hindu nationalism to connect itself to leisure activities such as watching television and domestic values, and thus increase its visibility and authority over Hindu daily lives.Show less
