India has seen an “unprecedented” cultural revival in the last eight years and has emerged as the number one soft power, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Tuesday. He also said that while people see the hard power aspect such as development of infrastructure, science and defence, they tend to forget the cultural revival the country has witnessed due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It is time we take note of the cultural revival too which has been “unprecedented” in the last eight years after the BJP came to power, he told reporters here.

He said the government has been making efforts to culturally connect various states and regions and the Kashi Tamil Sangamam event is a good example.

The Kashi Tamil Sangamam event is a programme to celebrate, reaffirm and rediscover the age-old links between Tamil Nadu and Varanasi.
The union minister said now India has emerged as the number one soft power as the world acknowledges New Delhi‘s importance.

The respect Indians command in foreign lands now is an acknowledgment of its soft power status.