Bishaldeep Kakati (Advocate, Gauhati High Court) and Bipasha Saikia (PhD Research Scholar, NLUJA, Assam)
Article 1 of the Indian Constitution states, “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.” A deeper analysis of the article brings into forefront India’s unique Unity in Diversity factory. The Country is the home to more than 705 officially recognized tribes, from the Bhils to the Sentinelese. Along with the tribes the other population of India makes the country culturally rich via their living style, food habits, dressing sense traditions and cultures as well as folklores. These together constitute the basis of India’s strong cultural dynamics that over the years helped the nation to escalate its global position and prestige via cultural diplomacy. From the rhythmic and alluring Bharatnatyam dance to the aromatic and strong flavour of a cup of tea, the cultural diaspora of India has propelled the global audience to reimagine India as the home of cultural diversity. In this regard, the northeast region of India has played a central role as well, as the region itself hosts more than 200 tribes with many distinctive and fascinating facets.
Out of the 8 sister states of Northeast India, Assam, often called the land of ‘Red Rivers and Blue Hills' hosts the largest river islands of India, that is Majuli that attracts over 500 to 2000 tourists annually.
Over the years, different tourists from different places like Denmark, Germany, France, and Israel, USA, UK etc and indulged themselves in different art forms like Satriya Dance, Bhaona etc and has made not only the state but the country strengthen its position as the hub of spiritualism. Assam’s own Suakulchi, also known as the ‘Manchester of the East’ is famous for its Muga wardrobes and items and ace designers like Sanjukta Dutta carried Assam’s Muga to the global sphere from Cannes to New York. In fact, Assam's famous hand-woven textile, ‘Gamucha’ also made global news when it was handed over to the rock bank Linking Park by Shantanu Hazarika and the Bihu dance caught the eyes of the global world when it was performed by American Astronaut Mike Fincke in Space. From the rural areas of Assam to the international sphere, the culture of the state has redefined India’s soft diplomacy in the global sphere.
In 2009, when famous international chef Gordon Ramsay visited northeast India to document the ‘Gordon’s Great Escape', his interest in northeast cuisines highlighted the soft power of northeast food to redefine India’s cultural diplomacy. During his visit to Nagaland and Assam, the chef collaborated with the locals to cook tribal food like smoked boar, chicken with papaya and regional fish curry.
The sui generis cooking style of the traditional food items and its taste made the chef bestow heaps of praise for the traditional dishes of Northeast India. Apart from this, local drinks like Apong, Zu, Kiad have also made many international tourists praise its raw taste and thereby make them visit the region and the country as a whole again. Apart from this, Assam’s Tea, Bhoot Jolokia, Kaji Nemu, Nagaland’s Axuni, Mizoram’s own smoked and fermented pork, Momo and Thukpa of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, Ngari of Manipuri and Tungtap of Meghalaya and different forms of pan cakes made by different communities of Northeast has redefined the importance of food items to glorify the strong cultural diplomacy of the Northeast and the nation of India as a whole.
