The Indian Cultural Diplomacy through the ICCR’s Scholarships

Abstract

This article aims at presenting the basics of literary and intellectual flow between India and Africa. It focuses on cultural diplomacy as a powerful lever of international relations. It analyses the role played by the Cultural Exchanges Program (ICCR) created in 1951 thanks to Indian Leaders like Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad and Jawaharlal Nehru. Such an Exchange Program unites the country of Mahatma Gandhi and the African continent. It manifests itself as an important example of cultural mobility. It also highlights that through this initiative, cultural bonds are enhanced, and mutual understanding, religious tolerance, peace-keeping, and conflict reduction are promoted. Indeed, a certain form of Interculturality is born and breaks the racial, ethnic, regional, and political barriers. In this framework, Cultural diplomacy is becoming richer through these Afro-Indian areas (South-South). The Indian Council for Cultural Relations builds up linkages that have become a multicultural crossroads beyond geographical environments.