India-Malawi India-Malawi 2019 | Page 26

The educational assistance through study scholarships for Malawians to study in India has also enhanced the cultural relations between the two countries. 26 • INDIA-MALAWI • 2019 Siddeshwara, H.E. Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika, President of Malawi did not only meet the Minister but also fi tted the Indian traditional wear. The Government of India through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has been sponsoring performers in dance and music since 2014 to promote cultural exchanges between India and Malawi. To date, the Rajasthani dance troupe, a fusion music team, and Bharatanatyam Troupe have all been sponsored by the ICCR to perform in Malawi’s cities of Lilongwe and Blantyre. The educational assistance through study scholarships for Malawians to study in India has also enhanced the cultural relations between the two countries. Malawians who have utilised these scholarships and training programmes since 2007, including Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), ICCR, CV Raman fellowships, and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), have had direct encounters with people or objects of the Indian culture. Likewise, Indians living in Malawi for business and other investments have been having similar interactions with the Malawian culture. Cultural relations are mutual transnational interactions among cultures, directly through physical encounters with people or objects of another culture and indirectly through cross- national infl uence in music, art, and fashion. It also encompasses such things as emigration and immigration, tourism, study awards, educational exchange and assistance, and philanthropic activities. Each country has its own values, beliefs and traditions as defi ned by the people who live in that particular country. Understanding of another country’s culture is what enables countries to establish and maintain transnational relations. The historical background between India and Malawi – who were both under the British colony – infl uenced and have arguably been driving the cultural relations between the two countries. The cultural relations between India and Malawi, to a greater extent, have helped to improve the understanding, enabled development of deeper relationships, and enhanced the mutual exchanges between Malawi and India. The recent events and engagements have shown it all; the cultural relations between India and Malawi are strong and continue to grow. * The author is a Junior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Research, Chancellor College.