"Millets, Ayurveda, yoga and traditional medicine." Watch how External Affairs minister S Jaishankar highlighted India’s constant push to become a soft power.
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00:00I mean, say, the K-pop and all those wonderful bands
00:05that they came out with, all the TV serials
00:08that they have done, I think it's been phenomenal.
00:14I think there are things which all of us can learn from it.
00:18The beauty of soft power is it is soft
00:20because it is not driven by the government.
00:23It reflects the creative urges of society.
00:26It reflects the creative urges of society.
00:30My name is Rosita Pohl, I'm 16 years old.
00:33As a fourth-generation Indian Thai,
00:35I have witnessed a lot of Korean soft power here in Thailand.
00:40I would like to see India exert her soft power more.
00:43It's interesting, it depends on where you go in the world.
00:50I found, for example, there'd be parts of the world,
00:53the Gulf, North Africa, Central Asia,
00:57where probably Indian soft power is the strongest.
01:02Culturally, people identify more readily.
01:06But it depends which aspect.
01:09One part, when people speak of culture, of soft power,
01:13and I think that's what you had in mind, too.
01:15I mean, say, the K-pop and all those wonderful bands
01:20that they came out with,
01:22all the TV serials that they have done.
01:27I think it's been phenomenal.
01:29I think there are things which all of us can learn from it.
01:33But it has to happen, it's a very societal-driven activity.
01:39The beauty of soft power is it is soft
01:41because it is not driven by the government.
01:43It reflects the creative urges of society.
01:48Certainly the government can kind of give an enabling mode.
01:52And one very successful example of this
01:54is actually International Day of Yoga.
01:57Think about it.
01:58I mean, until 2014,
02:00it was not that people didn't do yoga abroad.
02:04But once, actually,
02:08Modiji got this inspiration
02:10that we must make it an international celebration,
02:13then he asked us, saying,
02:15go to the UN and get the UN to pass a resolution,
02:19which was passed unanimously.
02:21Then you have seen, actually,
02:23I mean, it's, to my mind, actually,
02:26if I see in the 365 days of a year,
02:30which single day has the largest cultural celebration
02:36in the world?
02:37I think today, actually,
02:38the International Day of Yoga actually hits it.
02:41So it should be an inspiration for us to do other things.
02:47You know, it can be, I mean,
02:49we are today very energetically promoting Ayurveda
02:53and forms of traditional medicine.
02:55WHO has just set up the first global center
02:58of traditional medicine in India, in Jamnagar.
03:01And because, again, COVID has made people much more aware
03:06and open to traditional medicine and wellness.
03:12Or it could be a very different example, you know,
03:14something which we are now going to be pushing.
03:17I'll share with you.
03:19This will now be the international year of the millet, okay?
03:24Now, you know, some of you may remember
03:28eating millets in your youth.
03:30Now, everybody switched to rice and wheat.
03:32But actually, if you look,
03:34what did our parents and grandparents eat?
03:37Almost all of them ate millets.
03:39And millets are very healthy.
03:41They are far more nutritious.
03:43And they require much less water.
03:46And today, when you look at food shortages,
03:49actually, millets can make a huge difference.
03:51So promoting millets itself,
03:53it's also a form of soft power.
03:55You change people's eating styles.
03:59So, and suddenly, it's better than promoting potato chips.
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