India-Japan: A Tale of Multifaceted Relations.By- Shivangi SharmaIntroductionIndia has just celebrated 70 years of diplomatic ties with Japan last year. The relation

India-Japan: A Tale of Multifaceted Relations.

India has just celebrated 70 years of diplomatic ties with Japan last year. The relationship between these two nations have always been cordial except a few times in history. Technically, these two nations were never at war but 1944, the Battle of Imphal, raises a lot of questions which many people do not know of. But moving forward after the incidents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and after the independence of India, we can see the inception of a strategic alliance built on national interest and power value of both the nations in Asia. Now, they both stand as allies of each other at present.

India- Japan relations have ancient links of culture and people to people contact. History dates back to the time of spread of Buddhism. Now Japan has one of the major populations of Buddhist sect in the world. Buddhism is the second largest religion followed by people in Japan. In modern times, after India’s independence, Prime Minister Nehru gifted elephant ‘to the children of Japan’ in 1949. This was a gesture to build a relation with Japan and a humanitarian symbol of solidarity as Japan lost its elephants due to the war. In the contemporary times, there are many products used by Indians which originated from Japanese companies like Yamaha, Honda, Sony, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Hitachi. There are more than 40000 Indian nationals living in Japan as of 2022. Many cartoons from Japan are very famous in India like Doraemon, Kiteretsu etc. Overall Japanese Manga is very famous in India. Anime is also very popular amongst youngsters, which started off with the airing of “Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama” released in 1992. Indian food and films are very popular in Japan. This shows how people to people contact has shown growth irrespective of all the geopolitics in and across the nations.

People to People Relations between India and Japan

With the rise of China and scope of a multipolar world, it is very important that rising powers cooperate with each other. Shinzo Abe was a visionary to have seen the world specifically Asia on crossroads of taking action to have a little control over power dynamics in Asia. He did not want China’s hegemony in the Indo-Pacific region. Now, QUAD stands as a symbol of Abe’s legacy. It is strategic partnership between India, Japan, Australia, America which deals with security issues in maritime of Indo-Pacific region. The common goal of India and Japan can be deduced from this alliance i.e., free Indo-pacific region and to counter aggressive Chinese policies. Acquisition and cross servicing agreement was also signed in 2020 (Points below are from Press Release by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan):

“1. The Agreement establishes a framework such as the settlement procedures for the reciprocal provision of supplies and services between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the Indian Armed Forces.

2. It is expected that the Agreement will facilitate the smooth and prompt provision of supplies and services between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the Indian Armed Forces. The Agreement will also promote closer cooperation between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the Indian Armed Forces, and enable them to actively contribute to international peace and security.” 

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi  

“Japan and India have renewed the Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) of up to $75 billion with effect from February 28, 2022.

The Bank of Japan, acting as agent for the Minister of Finance of Japan, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed the Amendment and Restatement Agreement of the BSA, per a 

BSA is a two-way arrangement where both authorities can swap their local currencies in exchange for the US Dollar.

“Japan and India believe that the BSA, which aims to strengthen and complement other financial safety nets, will further deepen financial cooperation between the two countries and contribute to regional and global financial stability,” RBI said.” (Source: The Hindu Business line, Updated - February 28, 2022 at 03:09 PM. | Mumbai, February 28)

ODA (Official Development Assistance) was also provided by Japan to India to work together in many infrastructural projects as discussed further in the article. Investment of 42 billion dollars was also announced by Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida on his visit to India.

Ahmedabad Mumbai highspeed rail (Shinkansen technology)

Andaman Nicobar- Diesel based power plant

Peace treaty 1952- “Japan and India signed a peace treaty and established diplomatic relations on 28th April, 1952. This treaty was one of the first peace treaties Japan signed after World War II.” (Source: MOFA, Japan)

Japan started giving ODA (Official Development Assistance) to India in the form of Yen Loan in 1958 in exchange for exporting steel to them in the times of crisis.

Nuclear tests were not appreciated since Japan is a pacifist nation. Japan is the first nation of such caliber to denounce its rights to declare a war. Hence, after the 1998 nuclear tests, India had to face serious repercussions like sanctions from Japan. These sanctions went on for three years. 

In 2007, Shinzo Abe came to India and addressed Indian Parliament. Then in 2014, Modi went to Japan to build a strategic partnership.

ASEAN+ 6 is an association of nations which provides a forum for discussing energy demand and create a greater commercial potential for the region as a whole. East Asia Summit is another forum for discussions in which both the nations play an important role.

FTA (Foreign Trade Agreement) 2011 aimed on eliminating tariffs but this deal was not much of a success.

CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) was signed between the two nations in 2011.

India withdrew from RCEP because of imbalance of trade and involvement of China in it.

In 2014, India signed Special Strategic Global Partnership with Japan in the leadership of Prime Minister Modi for a peaceful and progressive continent i.e., Asia. SCRI (Supply Chain Resilience Initiative) is another initiative to counter balance the hegemony of China in the near future in the region.

70th Anniversary of diplomatic ties was celebrated in the year 2022 which shows that these two nations have been strong allies to each other through thick and thin.

Relevance of This Relationship in Contemporary Era:

Firstly, these two nations need to support each other to get a permanent seat in security council. G-4 was created with this purpose in the first place, four significant nations backing each other as a contender for UNSC.  

Countering China’s unchecked power in the region is another goal for these two nations to progress towards cooperation and peace.

India will help to mitigate economic stagnation which is approaching Japan by 2050, by providing human resources. Japan, on the other hand, can help India with technology in the defense sector. This will also help India to diversify its imports with regard to the defense system.

BRICS and NATO are very polar groupings of these two nations and can be seen as a challenge in the cooperation. However, it is very important to see the potential in the alliance of both the nations. Groups like JAI, 2+2, Blue dot dialogues are programmes to look forward to which will help in the growth of bilateral and multilateral relations between India and Japan. India and Japan are crucial for each other because they are democratic powers which are in top 10 economies of the world currently.

Buddhism- A Unifying Force from Asia to the World-       By Shivangi SharmaIntroductionBuddhism was founded near fifth century BC by Siddhartha Gautam now more famou

Buddhism- A Unifying Force from Asia to the World

Buddhism was founded near fifth century BC by Siddhartha Gautam now more famously known as Buddha. When it was founded, it had a very ambiguous status of being a cult or a religion. Buddhism can be seen as a cultural force that connected people from across the globe spiritually. It has now become a global phenomenon but how and why it became a part of cultural exchange is intriguing story in itself which principally reflects the Indian concept of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, which means the whole world is a family. Now, after globalization and other influences the Buddhist philosophies have been divided into many different schools of thoughts, in which majority were Mahayana and Hinayana. In a later stage there was a further division into Vajrayana after the flourishing of Buddhism in north east of India. The further spread of Buddhism in the world led to more and more schisms which led to other different schools of thoughts.

Major event of division of Buddhism occurred at the 4th council of King Kanishk where Buddhism got divided into two major ideologies, i.e., Mahayana and Hinayana. “Mahayana” comes from Sanskrit, meaning great vehicle. Mahayana is believed to be the more devotional form of Buddhism. Here Buddha is worshipped and respected as a God. They believe in liberating others even if they have to go through the cycle of pain and suffering to attain “Bodhisattva”. This is followed by majority of Buddhists in even in the modern world. On the other hand, Hinayana believed that Buddha was not a supernatural being or God rather they believed in enlightenment through self-realization. Vajrayana spread on the Tibet side after flourishing of Mahayana in the northern parts of India. Vajrayana means “Thunderbolt vehicle” in Sanskrit. They believe in the ultimacy of mind and that a person can achieve enlightenment in a single lifetime rather than suffering in many lifetimes.

South India to South Asia and Southeast Asia

After Ashoka supported Buddhism, it expanded not just in India but in Ceylon. Many Buddhist holy places were visited by Ashoka himself like: Lumbini, the place where Buddha was born; the Tree of Wisdom in Gaya, the Deer Park near Varanasi where he preached his first sermon and Kushinagara where he died. Even in the contemporary scenario, Sri Lanka is a Buddhist majority country, most of the Sinhalese are Buddhists. This shows the influence of Buddhism in the religious demography of Sri Lanka. It also shows how Hinayana Buddhism was spread from Southern part of India to other South Asian nations. On the other hand, Buddhism spread over the time due to the maritime connections due to the trade happening between the South Asia and Southeast Asia like Burma. After the spread in Burma, it is considered as the inception towards the other Southeast Asian nations like Malaysia and Indonesian islands to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

From the northern part of India, there was spread of Buddhism to China where the Buddhist culture assimilated the ideologies from Taoism and Confucianism. This is the reason why there was never a stark rebellion regarding a new culture. The syncretic nature of Buddhism made it very easy and adaptable for people in China to adopt this new religion without much revolt. In fact, it became like an amalgamation of cultures over the years. Different forms of Buddhism were adopted in East Asia. In Japan Buddhism came in two ways, first was the gift sent as diplomatic mission by Korea and the other was the visit of Bodhisena, a South Indian Buddhist scholar. Tibet was also a majorly influenced area and is still a very relevant area for Buddhist monks as Dalai Lama also belongs to this area. This region follows Vajrayana which is tantric Buddhism which is still followed there as well as in some parts of Japan. 

Difference in the Sculptures of Buddha can be seen as the two different schools of arts are there. Primarily Gandhara School of Art and Mathura School of Art where the distinct features of Buddha tell us the blend in the cultures. Gandhara School of Art has much more Hellenistic features, i.e., it has Greek influence in the sculpture but Mathura School of Art is more influenced by Hinduism and Jainism. Figures of Yaksha and Yakshini are the examples of Mathura School of Art.

Difference between Mathura and Gandhara Art

The variety of different art styles adopted all around the world shows how religion can change every aspect of a society. Primarily Buddhism originated from India but later on Chinese and Japanese art schools like Zen Art incorporated the culture in art like sculpting which shows how the religion influences cultures and demography. Today China has largest Buddhist population with tallest statue of Buddha.

Buddhist art in Japan: Nara and eighth-century art of Buddha

Buddhism has been a soft power of India since ancient times but now it has unified the whole Asia. Hence, it is a soft power of the whole continent. Since the conversions to Buddhism were not forced and its syncretic nature always maintained a balance between culture. This is the reason why Buddhism is still thriving. Some scholars say that China is now using the soft power of Buddhism in its own way for the promotion of BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) by gaining the trust of nations having Buddhist majority. This can be seen as the movement from the East to West not in the brutal way as the colonialism was but rather a cooperative way of East influencing the West.

Buddhism can be seen everywhere in the world in this age. It has become a global religion and it still remains popular as it gives answers to the way of living peacefully in this fast paced modern world. The ideology can be seen from monasteries to meditation centers. It can be seen in the big businesses like IKEA to Buddha Bars. Buddha bars combine the Asian cuisine with western taste which was founded by French-Romanian restaurateur Raymond Vișan, which shows the amalgamation of cultures.

Buddhism can be credited as a tool of ideological unification of people around the world. Since this religion is associated with peace and adaptability which is why people still follow this religion in their own way even when they are living a fast-paced life.

Parasite: A Mirror to Korean Society                                                                   By- Shivangi SharmaIntroductionParasite is a Korean drama thri

                                                                   By- Shivangi Sharma

 is a Korean drama thriller made in 2019. It changed the view of how people used to think about Korea as a perfect nation. It showcased the harsh reality and dichotomy of the society. It gave the parallel between the higher class and lower class in the same society. How the higher classes and lower-classes people lived under the same roof but still they were miles apart in reality. The realism shown in the film was heart wrenching yet the truth of many people in Korean society.

When we observe Korean economic history, it is based on the concepts of “chaebol” which means family-owned business. People who are born in privilege are getting all the wealth and recognition. The government also supported them, making them all the more powerful. This shows the negative aspect of Korea being a capitalistic society.

In the film, central characters who lived in basement house system were struggling to make ends meet. On the other hand, people who were wealthy, the Park family enjoyed their own world without caring for basic necessity. There is also a very symbolic rain scene where Mr. Kim is driving as Mrs. Park’s driver while she is talking on the cell phone about how rain has been a blessing whereas, we see as audience that how parallels are drawn. On one side Mr. Kim’s family was struggling and were stuck in cramped underground complex of theirs. While Parks were enjoying sitting inside and admiring the rain without its devastating impacts.

Bong Joon-Ho’s screenplay and direction are absurdly brilliant as this film is no fairy-tale, it shows the anarchic reality of life and has some violent scenes by the end of the film. This was an Oscar winning film and it got famous around the world for the reality shown in the movie. Which was relatable as class struggle is universal. Korean culture has a very strong class system and the kind of reality shown in the movie by director Bong is commendable. There was a term “dirt spoon” which became popular in 2015 meaning the underprivileged people. This spoon class theory is what divides upper and lower classes in Korean society.

Cinema of any place has great impact on people but now that impact is more than ever due to globalisation. Audience from around the world and the global popularity that 

 gained compelled Korean government to take initiatives to mend the conditions of underground houses. But in 2022 after the devastation of floods, The Korean government had to think of banning this housing system. This is how cinema impacts politics. This also explains the branding and rebranding of a nation.

 popularity opened the new door of opportunities not only for Korean cinema but for another underrated East Asian cinema. It was a cultural breakthrough as it made history by being the first South Korean Non-English-speaking film to win Best Picture at the academy Awards. This global success is not just a mere spread of Korean culture worldwide rather it can be considered as a strategic opportunity for nation branding. This has led to Korean wave which has also helped Korea to have a leverage in Economy. As global success ultimately leads to popularity and more capital to the nation for better investment in future.

Parasite: A Mirror to Korean Society

Uncertainty of LGBTQ Status in Ever Changing Social Milieu-Shivangi Sharma, Amity University Concept Firstly, people around the world need to understand the basic di

Uncertainty of LGBTQ Status in Ever Changing Social Milieu

Firstly, people around the world need to understand the basic difference between biological sex and gender. Sex is something that is assigned to a person at birth and is a physiological phenomenon which is not necessarily responsible for the kind of the mind a person has. Meanwhile, Gender is social construct, where a person can have contradictory feelings related to his/her biological sex assigned at birth. Gender orientation can differ from set of traditional norms given by the society for a specific gender.

There are many legal developments for LGBTQ community around the world but unfortunately not many are in progressive direction. The current example could be Uganda where on 21st March 2023 Uganda’s Parliament has passed Anti-Gay legislation that possesses tough penalties for same-sex relationships and criminalised merely identifying as it is said to have threatened traditional values and corrupted youngsters of East African nation. More than 30 nations have already banned same sex relationships making it very hard for people with LGBTQ status to live a life with dignity. Only South Africa is an exception in Africa with it being LGBTQ friendly.

Moving on to Asia we see a varied pattern due to its diverse demography. When we observe Middle East or West Asia, their LGBTQ community are more exposed to restrictive environment for which the major reason is religious believes. They are more open to hostility legally and socially. Being Gay is punishable by death in 5 of the 18 countries that make up the region. Sexual act between same sex is illegal in 9 out of the 18 countries. Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE has death penalty for same sex sexual act. Since ancient times they have considered same sex intercourse as sinful. Some of the Hadith collections condemn homosexuality and transgender acts, prescribing death penalty for the same. In the recent times FIFA World cup 2022 was surrounded by controversy due to its stance on same sex relationships. LGBTQ fans were left in dilemma whether to go support their own country as they were conflicted due to the rules in the country regarding LGBTQ. Mostly Islamic countries bound their citizens and legally they don’t have any rights to contest for their freedom as they will most probably be a victim to death penalty.

On the other hand, in East Asia the governments have a very neutral outlook on the matter but socially the LGBTQ community faces a lot of ostracism. In China the activists have won at least putting ban on “conversion therapy”. But still, they experience harassment from the Chinese officials and also, they don’t enjoy equal rights. During the pandemic homophobia increased due to the homophobic bloggers getting more attention. Hence, the community activists have to be more aware.  Same thing happened in case of South Korea amid pandemic government’s contact tracing sent a text publicly about a person who went to a gay club making it a privacy concern as well as shocking media portrayal of how sexual orientation of a person is more important than the pandemic fuelled more anti- gay element in the society. Taiwan on the other hand can be seen as a ray of hope for the LGBTQ community in the region as it is the only country that allows same sex marriage. Same-sex marriage was given a legal status on 24 May 2019, following a constitutional ruling in May 2017. In other countries like Philippines, Thailand and other Southeast Asian Nations they are very much comfortable with LGBTQ community but not very much in terms of legality. There is a large chunk of community in there but they don’t enjoy protection or legal rights from government in their own country.

In South Asia on the other hand historically there were liberated views on the same. There are many instances in the literature and historical records where kings to commoners were involved in same-sex activity or had the carnal desires for the same-sex. India decriminalised Section 377 of Indian Penal Code on September 6th 2018, which was very discriminatory in nature. It was a colonial legacy left in law which was repealed by the government. Same-sex couples have all equal cohabitation rights. Still same sex marriage is not legal in India as it breaks the traditional code of marriage as an institution in India. Although, Nepal can be seen as a ray of hope in South Asian nations as it is the only country that has legalised same-sex marriage in very recent times on March 2023. It was a benchmark decision as it allowed the foreign marriage of same sex couple.

Russia has been neutral on LGBTQ rights as it has not given any legal protection to the people of the community but also has not banned sexual activity between same-sex couple. However, the war that has been going on for quite sometime between Russia and Ukraine has now left homophobes perplexed as to what actually is the idea of being a patriot as LGBTQ soldiers of Ukraine are fighting in the frontline of the war. This shows that there is always a silver lining even in a grave situation like a war. This has been an eye-opener for global community who has disregarded the contribution of the community just because of their sexual orientation. The Queer soldiers now dying on borders are the people who never got recognition before and were not included in the army.

Overall, only a few nations have given legal status to same sex marriage mostly are from America and Europe. Only about 30 nations have legalised same sex marriages which is not a very progressive number yet a hope for other countries to learn. LGBTQ community is minority still a chunk of population that cannot be ignored. Patriotism and humanity cannot be judged by someone’s sexual orientation. A person should have the right to exist freely. The UN also supports the LGBTQIA+ community by organising awareness programmes for staff and anti-bullying initiatives have also been implemented in many schools. Excluding a population is never an answer in such a globalised world. By making inclusive policies, people from all backgrounds and gender orientations will come forward to help uplift the global economy. It’s high time that the world leaders and people from all around the world understand and recognize the efforts of Queer community.  