Last week, we celebrated Narendra Modi becoming the longest-serving elected Prime Minister in India’s history. On 10 June, his tenure surpassed that of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was not actually elected by the people when he first took office.
This achievement is particularly commendable, as the scale and complexity of governing a nation of 1.4 billion people, diverse in language, culture, religion, and geography, is no mean feat. Shloka 3.21 of the Bhagavad Gita exemplifies the sustenance of public trust that the PM has received over three consecutive national mandates in the world’s largest democracy.
Yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas
tat tad evetaro janaḥ
sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute
lokas tad anuvartate
“Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.”
Rising from very humble beginnings, often mocked as a “chaiwallah” by the elitist opposition operating out of the “hallowed” and sanitised environs of the Delhi elitist Lutyens zone (aka Delhi Gymkhana Club), he reached the highest echelons of elected office without any generational wealth or support of a political dynasty. He led by example, surviving on bare minimum of sleep and other comforts of life, much to the consternation of his political rivals.
One of the most important achievements of the PM’s 12 years in the seat of power has been the rise of India’s global image, and the narrative surrounding India as a country and as a people. When global interconnectivity is bringing nations much closer, both literally and figuratively, the international stature of a country is no longer only a function of its size, its military prowess, or even the number of its people. Rather, the narrative arising from its historical and intellectual contributions, and from its vision for the future, forms the building blocks and very foundations of its foreign policy.
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The story of soft power
Soft power was originally defined by the scholar of international relations Joseph Nye in his book, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power.
“Soft power is the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments,” Nye wrote. He argued that it arises from the attractiveness of a country’s culture, political ideals, and policies.
Soft power was then broken down into three essential resources — first, culture, or the arts, lifestyle, and values that are attractive to other nations; then, political values, the perceived fairness, democracy, and human rights a nation practises internally and externally; and finally, foreign policy, the perceived legitimacy, moral authority, and cooperative nature of a country’s global actions.
Nye also noted that “smart power is the ability to combine the strategies of hard power and soft power into successful strategies.”
Today, management schools are teaching the art of effective storytelling. So why should public policy schools not do the same? And in PM Modi’s time, India has worked towards creating its own story of power.
India’s intellectual legacy and its historical distortion
Global scholars and popular imagination have presented India through a limited lens of spirituality, mysticism, and exotic philosophy. Western media lapped up the narrative of the “naked fakir”, the cow worshipper, and the sadhus performing penance through hath yog, all derived from clichéd representations in popular culture.
This narrow portrayal largely overlooked India’s humongous contribution to mathematics, astronomy, medicine, metallurgy, and logical reasoning. It has inadvertently created the impression that India gave the world spiritual wisdom, but that it was the West that produced scientific modernity. Such a perception is not just historically inaccurate, but also of no strategic advantage.
If a nation is seen merely as a repository of ancient culture rather than a source of modern innovation, then it risks being excluded from conversations that shape the future of technology, including AI, research, and global governance. While the Western world has always garnered credit for inventions such as Google, the internet, and AI, it was Indian brains that were empowering Western technical and medical research, as is evident from the current H-1B controversy relating to immigrants of Indian origin.
Ancient knowledge that led to modern innovation
India’s greatest strengths lie in the continuity of its intellectual tradition. Yet, though it is one of the ancient civilisations of the world, it has remained unrecognised for its global contributions to mathematics, science, and the humanities.
The world had forgotten that it was India that gave the world the mathematical zero, both as a placeholder and as a numerical digit, laying the foundation of present-day mathematics and quantum computing as we know it. Britannica refers to the Bakhshali manuscript, dating back to the 3rd or 4th century BCE, as featuring the earliest recorded use of zero as a placeholder. Brahmagupta, in 628 CE, defined the first mathematical rules for zero, and its operations with negative numbers.
Many of the principles that are the foundations of modern computing, digital technologies, and AI trace their intellectual ancestry to Indian principles.
A science soft power gap
International soft power rankings often reveal an illuminating paradox. India’s performance in areas related to culture, heritage, and traditions is far ahead of its scores on scientific influence, technological leadership, and innovation.
In the London-based consultancy Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index 2025, which ranks all 193 UN member states, India placed 30th overall. However, while we ranked 12th in Culture & Heritage, including 6th in arts and entertainment, we were only 18th in “advanced in science” and 24th in “advanced in technology and innovation”.
A major reason for this is that India’s capabilities are still defined by narratives shaped during the colonial era, which continue to influence global perceptions. India’s remarkable advancements in digital governance, pharmaceuticals, IT, and scientific research frequently receive less recognition than its yoga, cuisine, and the defining representation of Indian culture: Bollywood.
India, however, has effectively demonstrated that it has world-class scientific competence and technological capability, even in contemporary times.
A case in point is Covaxin, India’s indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, developed by Bharat Biotech, one of the most effective vaccines according to a study published earlier this year in Frontiers in Immunology, with efficacy of 77.8 per cent against symptomatic disease and 93.4 per cent against severe infection. This vaccine gave many MNCs a run for their money, as they were looking at India not as a country, but as a market.
Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1, the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor, and the upcoming Gaganyaan mission are all indicators of the depth of the country’s research ecosystem and engineering competence. During a recent visit to an IIT campus, I was impressed to note that our brightest minds had developed thermal protection gear that could compete with the likes of Canada Goose, an innovative outerwear brand designed for the extreme cold of polar regions.
These accomplishments are not isolated successes but evidence of sustained institutional investment and scientific maturity. They also reinforce the argument that innovation should not be viewed exclusively through the traditional North Atlantic centres. The definition of technological leadership also needs to evolve as more countries enter the ambit of scientific contribution.
Are the metrics defining global reputation skewed?
Is it time to question the methodologies used by many of these indices? Rankings on soft power, innovation, or governance are very often presented as objective assessments, yet they frequently rely on subjective data, surveys whose basic design is flawed, and benchmarks designed in Western academic and policy ecosystems.
Consequently, these indices often fail to capture indigenous models of development.For instance, India has built massive digital public infrastructure, from UPI to DigiLocker, but global innovation rankings still tend to reward patents and R&D spending.
India’s scale, its digital public infrastructure, its democratic complexity, and many of its indigenous innovations are often held up to different measurement scrutinies.
These rankings influence investor confidence, diplomatic engagement, and international credibility. Consequently, India cannot afford to treat them as neutral or unquestionable benchmarks. There is a growing need to advocate for more representative methodologies that recognise multiple pathways to development and innovation.
The contrast becomes all the more striking when institutions such as the IMF acknowledge India’s economic resilience.
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Healthcare as a soft power frontier
Healthcare has emerged as a powerful instrument of soft power, transforming scientific progress into diplomatic capital.
For instance, sickle-cell anaemia is an evolutionary development linked to malaria-bearing mosquitoes, and is widespread in both India and Africa. India’s work in affordable treatment and indigenous research can contribute to a global narrative of inclusive development and humanitarian leadership.
India is a nation with expertise in affordable pharmaceuticals and scalable healthcare delivery. And we are well positioned to share knowledge, diagnostics, and treatment models with countries across Africa and the Global South, as compared to other countries with limited experience of tropical diseases.
Such cooperation can also strengthen India’s image, not just as an economic or strategic power, but as a trusted partner that translates the civilisational ethos of Vasudeva Kutumbakam into tangible action. Thus demonstrating that compassion, innovation, and capability together constitute a durable form of influence in contemporary international relations.
Lokāḥ Samastāḥ Sukhino Bhavantu.
“May all beings, in all the worlds, be happy and free.”
This ancient Sanskrit mantra exemplifies India’s influence in the international order of today. The attractiveness of India’s civilisational ethos is balanced by the confidence that her values are supported by capability, both technical and innovative. Soft power, when backed by strategic capability, becomes a force multiplier rather than just a civilisational aspiration.
Meenakshi Lekhi is a BJP leader, lawyer and social activist. Her X handle is @M_Lekhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)