It was between the second and fifth century AD that immigrant Hindus had established their kingdoms in central Vietnam without violence or invasion. At a conference organised by the ICCR, delegates from India and Vietnam discussed the various ways in which we can strengthen our cultural bonds. By S Mallik
When we think of the countries across the world, we see them as just another country — different from us in terms of history, culture, tradition and what not. But there are countries which share a common bond with India, often without us not knowing. And one such country is Vietnam. Did you know that the immigrant Hindus, who had once migrated from India to Vietnam, had established their Kingdom of Champa in Central Vietnam between second and 15th century ADIJ That, too without violence or invasionIJ One of the biggest reasons why we do not know of this because subjects as important and interesting as these are not much talked of.
ICCR, over the weekend, hosted a bilateral international seminar on ‘Indo-Vietnam Cultural Relations: Retrospect and Prospect.’ Delegations from India and Vietnam spoke about the cultural ties that the two nation share and also deliberated on the areas we could work on to further strengthen those bonds.
One would be amazed at the similarity between the two languages. If history and facts are to be believed, the mother tongue of the Chams belong to the Sanskrit family. In fact, it is considered that it was originally Sanskrit but, over time, underwent a change in script and dialect according to the demands of the period and the environment.
“If culture is a way of life then India and Vietnam have always shared common cultural ties and there is a need to take them further. We share an anti-colonial history in our struggle for independence and that, all the more, calls for cultural diplomacy. We have an understanding of each other’s cultures and we can take them further by developing tourism, media interaction and student exchange,” said Ton Sinh Thanh, Ambassador of Vietnam to India. He added that at present, we have more favourable conditions for cultural cooperation as leaders of both countries attach great importance to cultural diplomacy and several agreements have been signed. “Besides enhancing the exchange of artistes, cultural troops and students, we should try new areas like exchanging of movies and promoting films in each other’s countries. There are some beautiful places in Vietnam that Bollywood can shoot in,” added Thanh who hoped that India would accept a proposal of to erect a Ho Chi Min (the Father of Vietnamese people) statue in New Delhi.
Geetesh Sharma, senior journalist and social activist recounted how affected the country was when Vietnam was at war. “Poets and writers in Calcutta expressed solidarity with Vietnam during the war. Every little magazine in the city has a piece in it. That was cultural power,” he said.
“We need more people to people diplomacy because we share similar interests in politics and economy. Government agencies should share regular information on festivals and programmes so that we can exchange arts,” said Vu Xang Hong, president, Vietnam-Us Parliamentarian Caucus.
Both the countries are doing everything in their power to strengthen the bonds, but only with active participation from the people will make the endeavour successful.