Title: Instrumentality of music in cultural diplomacy between India and Pakistan

Authors: Mayank Mishra

Addresses: Centre for South Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, 110067, India

Abstract: Music is cathartic and can express emotions in ways that language struggles to accomplish. This paper intends to analyse how cultural diplomacy, especially music, can serve as a crucial conduit in ameliorating the relations between India and Pakistan. It traces the evolution of music, its dynamics in bilateral politics and the everyday lives of people of both countries. Forging people-to-people bond through art and cultural exchanges can potentially provide an alternative to the hegemonised antagonistic discourse conquered by the two governments. The paper addresses, whether music can be the language of diplomacy? How does the shared legacy of music of the Indian subcontinent stands in contestation to the idea of the perpetual difference of us versus them between India and Pakistan? Can music play any role in ameliorating bilateral relations? The paper primarily uses the naturalistic elements of qualitative methodology, anecdotal references and briefly historicises the syncreticity of music.

Keywords: cultural diplomacy; music; India; Pakistan; South Asia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLAP.2023.127321

International Journal of Public Law and Policy, 2023 Vol.9 No.1, pp.75 - 91

Received: 04 Feb 2022
Accepted: 16 Feb 2022
Published online: 30 Nov 2022 *