Leveraging Civilizational Linkages between India and Vietnam for Mutual Development

 Keywords: Cultural Diplomacy, ASEAN-India, Vietnam, Civilizational Connect, Sustainable Development

Date: 18th May, 2025

Culture should be considered as a global public good and an enabler of sustainable development as highlighted in the 2023 UN Secretary-General’s report on SDGs. The historical and civilizational connections between ancient India and Vietnam may find relevance for modern-day geopolitics and cultural diplomacy. The shared heritage can be leveraged to promote sustainable cultural economies, enhance regional cooperation, and build a future rooted in traditional knowledge systems and cultures.

The ancient Champa Kingdom (2^nd-17^th Century CE) located in present-day Vietnam, exemplifies the deep-rooted civilizational linkages between India and Southeast Asia. Influenced by Indian religious, linguistic, and artistic traditions, Champa demonstrates rich historical connections with ancient Indian civilization.

The Champa Kingdom was a major Southeast Asian maritime power and port cities like Kauthara and Indrapura were hubs of trade, religious exchange, and cultural diffusion. Champa adopted Hinduism (especially Shaivism) and Buddhism, with temple complexes such as My Son sanctuary reflecting Indian spiritual and architectural motifs. Use of Sanskrit in inscriptions and literature symbolize intellectual exchanges between the two civilizations. Cham sculptures and temple carvings show clear influence of Indian forms like lingas, mukhalingas, and mandalas.

Champa also played a central role in the spice trade, acting as a medium between India, China, and Southeast Asia. Finally, Cham weaving and textile design, influenced by Indian techniques, remain relevant even today through both heritage preservation and fashion innovation. This legacy underlines the cultural depth of India–Southeast Asia engagement, deeply embedded in people-to-people connections.

The role of culture is increasingly recognized for its contributions to social cohesion, economic livelihoods, and environmental sustainability. The India-Champa connection offers a model for sustainable cultural economies that can be leveraged for tourism, crafts, and MSME development (aligned with SDGs 8, 10, and 12); intercultural dialogue reinforcing shared values and histories across India and ASEAN through religion, literature, and artistic expressions and traditional knowledge for resilience to utilize centuries-old practices in architecture, textiles, agriculture, and ecological rituals for climate adaptation and community sustainability.

Regional efforts such as the ASEAN Cultural Heritage List (ACHL) are already working toward embedding cultural identity into policy frameworks. The India-Champa legacy should be integrated into such platforms.

India and Southeast Asia share a broad canvas of civilizational linkages, many of which are derived from maritime exchanges and shared philosophical traditions. Contemporary examples include shared epics, especially the Ramayana; architectural continuity including the temples in Borobudur, Angkor Wat, and Bagan; eco-friendly practices like the use of traditional materials such as banana leaves for food packaging that mirror Indian customs. These parallels present a robust basis for enhanced ASEAN–India cultural cooperation, particularly in promoting creative sustainable industries, cultural tourism, and knowledge exchange.

To preserve shared cultural heritages, there is a need to integrate culture in the development framework. This would involve institutionalizing culture in SDG implementation at national and regional levels and align culture with the UN’s “Pact for the Future” and UNESCO’s cultural conventions.

In order to scale up regional heritage initiatives, the ASEAN Cultural Heritage List (ACHL) can include shared heritages such as India-Champa architecture and maritime traditions and promote transnational nominations and documentation of shared traditions under regional bodies. An effective way to strengthen the cultural economy is by creating regional innovation hubs and digital platforms for MSMEs working in crafts and heritage sectors.

The ASEAN-India Cultural Exchange Programmes can be strengthened by promoting joint research, festivals, and capacity-building projects. Efforts also must be geared towards developing regional cultural development index to help assess the impact of cultural heritage on socio-economic indicators to guide policy priorities. The cultural index can also inform important stakeholders for heritage protection laws and infrastructure planning.

In strengthening ASEAN-India partnership, cultural diplomacy plays a key role in enhancing people-to-people contact, help in the projection of soft power, and complement strategic and economic goals. India has undertaken multiple initiatives to strengthen cultural ties with Southeast Asian countries, both at bilateral and regional levels.

Some of the projects include the International Buddhist Conclave, reviving Nalanda University, setting up ICCR Cultural Centers in ASEAN countries, ASEAN-India Artists’ Camps and Music Festivals, Festival of India, offering scholarships and fellowships under ASEAN-India Cooperation Fund and ITEC, Ramayana Festival, ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks, ASEAN-India Cultural and Civilizational Links Conference, Exchange Programmes among others.

These initiatives contribute significantly towards building a regional identity. The shared tradition of the Ramayana and its different versions help in evoking a sense of common ancestry. These commonalities also help in creating a sense of a bottom-up approach among the people that goes beyond official diplomacy. This, in turn, supports the narrative of ASEAN-India partnership in paving the way for deeper regional integration between ASEAN and India.

Culture must be repositioned from a peripheral concern to a strategic pillar of development policy. The Champa Kingdom’s relationship with India demonstrates how it shaped regional prosperity and integration in the past. These civilizational links remain powerful tools for advancing sustainable development, cultural diplomacy, and regional identity today.

As ASEAN and India look toward the future, the shared heritage from civilizations like Champa offers an interesting framework for inclusive, resilient, and culturally rooted growth. By combining historical consciousness with modern policy tools, the India-ASEAN partnership can lead the way in re-aligning culture as a driver of development. This will serve as an example of partnership that is rooted in history, yet is future-oriented. 

Sampa Kundu is a Consultant, ASEAN-India Centre at RIS, New Delhi and a Visiting Fellow, Asian Confluence.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above and the information available are those of the author/s and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the position of Asian Confluence

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