50

Odisha Review December - 2014

Clash versus Confluence

The National Annual Security Review of 2010states that India was the world’s fifth mostpowerful country, outranking the United Kingdom,France and Germany. But India is not famous forits military strength but for her cultural influence.Culture plays a crucial role in establishing andenhancing bilateral relations among nations in thismulti-polar world. It is being widely used by nationstates as a means for furthering national interestsin international relations. “Voyaging Across Times:Reflections on Indo-South African CulturalRelations” is refreshingly a maiden attempt tocapture the aspects of cultural relations spanningnearly four centuries (1652-2011) between thetwo ancient civilizations. The study is based onboth primary and secondary sources publishedin India and abroad.

It investigates how cultural relationspresent national images in each others’ country,advance domestic objectives and act as fulcrumfor relations in other fields like economy,diplomacy, development and defense. It alsoaddresses the issues of ‘globalization of culture’and provides a cushion for the fear of ‘clash ofcivilizations’.

Voyaging Across Times: Reflectionson Indo-South African Cultural Relations

Prof. S.N. Malakar

Divided into seven chapters the book setsout the objectives of the study in a coherent andappropriate manner. It has a good flow in tracingthe cultural relations between India and SouthAfrica spanning for over four centuries. It highlightsvarious aspects of culture, politics and historywhile delineating the relations between the twocountries. The discrimination in the form ofapartheid prompted Mahatma Gandhi to launchhis ‘ahimsa’ and ‘satyagraha’ movements in SouthAfrica which came in handy for freedommovement in India subsequently.On January 9,1915, this Indian lawyer arrived in Bombay on aship from South Africa. He was given a hero’swelcome. His Satyagraha (Sanskrit for “truth andfirmness”) movement in South Africa had attractedseveral thousand followers and brought him famein India. This Non Resident Indian (NRI) hadfought successfully for the civil rights of SouthAfrica’s Indian minority; among otherconcessions, the Union of South Africa hadabolished specific taxes levied on Indians andrecognized Indian marriages. MohandasKaramchand Gandhi, the Mahatma (Great Soul),would go on to lead the fight for India’s freedomand dominate the next thirty years of Indian politicsby sheer moral suasion. It is shown that even whilefighting for freedom of their respective countries,how cultural confluence had formed the bedrock

The book has been written by Dr. Bishnupriya Padhi

(A Book Review)

51

Odisha ReviewDecember - 2014

of relationship which joined leaders with leaders,ideas with ideas, organizations with organizationsand people with people.

The book starts with an overview of theimportance of culture in diasporic communitiesand its consequences to international relations inan age of globalization. The comprehensive reviewof literature is quite informative. The researchdesign and methodology add high level oflegitimacy to the study. The author has takeninterregionalism as the framework within whichcultural relations between the two countries isexamined. There is a lucid analysis of the conceptof interregionalism in the preface. One of thefunctions of interregionalism is identity-building.Both the countries take resort to identity buildingthrough cultural relations. But one wishes that theauthor should have examined the institutionalarrangement to make interregionalism functionalbetween the two countries.

There is a culture of intellectualism inIndia. It is a very rich aspect of the Indian societyand has a pronounced impact on civil societymovements. This aspect as shown by AmartyaSen in his book, ‘The Argumentative Indian’nurtured Indian Diasporic worldview even in SouthAfrica. Even during the formative periods of Indiansettlement as slaves and indentured labourers,when there were deliberate attempts for their de-identification by colonial masters, the contributionsof Indian slaves and free blacks in terms oflanguage formation, faith and architecture wereimmense. The Indo-South African cultural relationhas been succinctly put by Jawaharlal Nehru inhis famous words. “We share a common trystwith destiny. We are a people of many colours,races, cultures, languages and ancient origins; yetwe are tied to one another by a million visible andinvisible threads. We share a common destinyfrom which none of us can escape because we

together are human, we are Indian, we are SouthAfrican.” Gandhi chose the cultural terrain fortransformation through his experiments in Phoenixand Tolstoy settlements. The ideal of ‘kutum’ –an intimate collective conscience that socializesand controls, binds and integrates diverse socialgroups into a tightly-knit neighbourhood-was thecultural undercurrent which supplied necessarymoral courage and political stratagem to Gandhito keep the Indians together. The cultural relationsbetween the two countries during the colonial eragave India a brand name for its high moralstanding, family values, universal brotherhood andpeaceful coexistence eventhough both thecountries were under foreign domination.

In the chapter on post-independent Indiaand apartheid South Africa: 1948-1993, theauthor has shown that when the internationalscenario was charged with an unknown fear ofthe clash of civilization, the Indo- South Africancultural relations presented a scenario of hope.There was a severance of diplomatic relationsbetween the two countries. But in the cultural field,flow of theatre personalities, musicians and artistswas uninterrupted as the Indian communities livingthere looked up to them for ideas, theme,techniques and personalities. It was a period ofcultural assertion. As a group, the Indiancommunity in South Africa at various times wasat the mercy of British imperialism, African andBlack Nationalism and restrictive apartheidlegislations. Theatre and cultural practices with avernacular base constantly re-affirmed communityvalues and assisted ethnic orientation. By comingin contact with the other social groups andexposure to the English education, westernizationand modernization, the Indian community becameassertive and used culture as a weapon againstrepressive apartheid state. The successful stagingof popular theatrical presentations by people likeMuthal Naidoo, Essop Khan, Mohammed Alli

52

Odisha Review December - 2014

and Vivian Moodeley came in handy to fight thestate in a forceful manner. Theatre, for SouthAfrican Indians, has become a tool in their strugglefor space. Theatres became big business and hadcreated a flourishing industry in South Africa.Their contacts with Indian artists, film personalitiesand musicians facilitated cultural relations duringthis period. The plays of 1990s in South Africareflected gender sensitivity by providing space towomen in stage. Another seminal but lesser knownfact was the contribution of Indian children tocultural development there. Indian children formany years studied the arts by masters in India.The dialogue of cultural relations continued in theform of political, moral, and spiritual support tothe people of South Africa by the people andGovernment of India. The carriers of ancientIndian culture were the indentured labourerswhose contribution remained unnoticed. ButNelson Mandela, the cultural icon of South Africa,acknowledged that the indentured labourers withtheir ancient culture made an indelible imprint onthe life and culture of South Africans to encompassthe very mode of existence of human persons. Inthe process of reconceptualizing their prejudicesand their histories, the South African Indiansreconstructed themselves anew. And thisreconstruction was possible through the people-to people contact in a natural way.

India did not have diplomatic relationswith apartheid South Africa till 1994. But bothhad intimate people-to-people contact throughcultural relations. Cultural relations in the post -apartheid era presented a paradigm shift. Thefusion of Indo-South African culture – whether inSurialanga dance or Tiribhangi dance, cuisine orfashion, rasna drink or vegetables, languageformation or temple architecture – findsexpression in all aspects of living. This culturalfusion perhaps made Nelson Mandela tocomment ‘India and South Africa are poised to

build a unique and special partnership – apartnership forged in the crucible of history,cultural attributes and common struggle”.

India and South Africa are changing notjust economically but also in the way that theirpeople want to engage with culture. Culturalexchanges through their context, content andmedium have presented an updated internationalimage of India in South Africa and vice versa.They acted as catalysts for encouraging greaterinvestment and collaboration in the fields oftechnology, commerce and industry, strategic,defence and tourism. They have given boost tocultural industries and artists. The South AfricanTourism Minister, Van Schalkwyk visited Indiaduring 29-31 January 2012 to attend the annualTourism Road Show organized by South AfricanTourism. He had acknowledged that India is akey market for South African Tourism. Over theyears, the tourists arriving in South Africa fromIndia each year has risen by more than 122%between 2005 and 2010. India ranks highestamong the BRICS countries in terms of annualtourist arrivals in South Africa. India rankedseventh in overseas source market for SouthAfrican tourism over the nine months of Januaryto September 2011. Indian tourist arrivals toSouth Africa in 2010 alone saw a jump of closeto 17.3%. He also stated that the Indian is theperfect candidate for the ‘Leave OrdinaryBehind’ campaign of which South African Tourismis currently embarking on.Similarly, South Africais doing a lot of Bollywood shooting, fashionadvertizing in South Africa to attract more Indiantourists. During the South African National Daycelebrations by the South African Mission in Indiain 2011, different South African artists likeKhesaniMangany of Stone Cherrie fashion label,Ntando (Afro-pop singer), MasojaMsiza (a poet)and IhashiElimhlophe (veteran poet) participated.In the Pune Film Festival-2011 South African Film

53

Odisha ReviewDecember - 2014

maker Siyanda Ndebele was taken as a jury.Collaboration in film industry would benefit SouthAfrica as there is a lot the South African filmindustry can learn from the booming andmultibillion Indian film industries. These are someof the examples of how culture plays a catalyticrole in achieving domestic objectives andsustaining other forms of relations through culturalexchanges.

One wishes that the author could dwellat some length on the cultural industries, theirstrategies of promotion and medium oftransportation from India to South Africa and viceversa in a chronological manner especially for theperiod from 2000 to 2011. This could have givena better perspective for providing the rightopportunity for trade partners from India as wellas South Africa to come together and forgeprofitable business ties.

Regarding the medium of exchanges, bothgovernment and non-government agencies andprivate individuals have made the cultural relationsbroad based, deep-rooted and sustainable. Thisbook serves to update and broaden the currentunderstanding that cultural relations would giveway to cultural diplomacy. The ability to measurethe behavioural effects of cultural relations wouldprovide the foreign affairs mandarins - the meansto improve their policies and politicians; artistsand bureaucrats with the capacity to argue forgreater support of cultural exchanges.

Inter-civilizational dialogue is an antidoteto the clash of civilizations. When the internationalscenario is charged with an unknown fear of theclash of civilizations, the Indo-South Africancultural relations have all along provided a scenarioof hope and a specter of cultural confluence. Thisbook has highlighted the contours of culturalcooperation and created a lasting partnershipbetween diverse cultures of both the countries.Cultural cooperation has worked towardsestablishing social cohesion within the rainbownation.

Culture needs dialogue. Dialogue needsculture. Countries, regimes, people andcommunities are becoming more and moreintertwined and interdependent. We can not affordto cut ourselves off. Cultural relations contributeto mutual understanding between societies andpeoples. Culture is not a commodity but it is astrategic asset. Understanding others’ cultures canprevent prejudice and hate. Cultural exchangesenrich our lives by inspiring new forms of artisticexpression and providing fresh insights thatbroaden our horizons.Cultural activities andexchanges can exercise a more powerful influencethan military task force or political delegations.South Africa leads the rest of the world throughits philosophy of ubuntu. India reciprocates thatpartnership through her philosophy of “VasudhaivaKutumbakam”. This book is all about thatpartnership : a partnership to herald a new worldorder based on peace.