PUNE: “Countries which understood the importance of using culture as a strategy and developed the requisite tools in anticipation of the futuristic changes prospered, while countries like India and China with rich culture perished as they didn't do so,” said Foreign Secretary at Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Vijay Gokhale during International Relations Conference (IRC) 2018 at Symbiosis International University (SIU), Lavale Campus, on Saturday.

The sixth edition of IRC, an annual two-day event, concluded on Saturday and the theme was 'Shaping a New Strategic Culture for India'.

Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Member of Parliament (MP) from the State addressed the spectators through a video message.

"In the past, the power was concentrated in the Eastern region but shifted to Western region and gave rise to renaissance and the industrial revolution," Gokhale said.

"The land and sea routes opening were essential for physical mobility which led to the globalisation. But, with the advent of the internet, cyberspace has enabled globalisation without physical mobility," he added.

Gokhale said that shaping of strategic culture should not be viewed solely as a government responsibility but everyone must look beyond it.

"A government can create an enabling framework, but the corporate community has to develop the strategic vision and the business not merely driven by short-term gains. Successful strategic vision and direction demand bold initiatives," he said, giving examples of International Solar Alliance and International Yoga Day.

He also mentioned that the success of the Indians is not because of the skills in science and technology or the financial power but because of the inherent cultural conditioning to think out of the box.

"In the past, we looked inwards and confined ourselves to current capacities only. There is an inescapable necessity to plan for the future and build the capacity accordingly. A clear and effective strategic vision can be conceived through the healthy debate between all stakeholders," Gokhale said.

Other dignitaries present were Dr SB Mujumdar, Chancellor, SIU, Dr Rajni Gupte, Vice Chancellor, SIU, Dr Vidya Yeravdekar, Pro-Chancellor, SIU and Ambassador (Retd) Talmiz Ahmad.

Vinay Sahsrabuddhe outlined a four-point approach for shaping Indian culture as strategic soft power in his video address.
- 'Development Diplomacy' to shape strategy.
- 'G-All' approach instead of restricted G-8, G-20 will provide a single platform for framing policy on the common areas like environment, disarmament, WTO restrictions, hunger, natural resources management etc.
- Strong military preparedness will act as deterrence against misadventure by neighbours.
- Developing and harnessing culture as soft power to win hearts.