From Shared Histories to Shared Futures: Ubuntu, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, and the Making of a New India-Africa Order

Abstract

This paper explores the possibility of the philosophies of ‘Ubuntu’ and ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' as underlying principles to build a new India-Africa order, which would be beyond transactional diplomacy to mutual prosperity and peace. A multi-method qualitative research design is used that includes critical discourse analysis of policy documents and discourses on South-South cooperation, ethnographic content analysis of urban youth cultural practices in Mumbai and Nairobi and comparative case studies of the Siddi and Indian East African communities. Historical records of monsoon trading routes available in the British Library India Office Records enable an historical perspective of mutual assistance networks that has been established over the years. Our findings show that there are a number of consistent discursive features, with the history of the couple and of the state being used to legitimize the present partnership, while there is a strong tension between the use of a shared history and the strengthening of state sovereignty norms. Usually, this is resolved by reframing the two principles as complementary instead of conflicting. The study of urban youth practices highlights specific aspects of “lived cosmopolitanisms” – their cultural direction, level of hybridity, and emotional colour. The Diaspora case studies illustrate how memory-writing and memory-sharing, especially amongst the Oshwal Jain community, can be used to help negotiate belonging and to form intergenerational cohesion. In addition, the National Adaptation Plan of Tanzania demonstrates a strong focus on inclusive planning based on traditional knowledge without any mention of the common history of the region. The research presents a new paradigm of the study of India-Africa relations through the prism of migration, displacement and cultural continuity; it underscores that the colonial entanglements are an important underpinning of the relations today, which should not be separated from it. This work thus offers a valuable reframing of South-South cooperation that sees spaces of shared cultural and historical heritage actively shape the ideas of governance and transregional political thinking for realizing the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and Agenda 2063.