What culture tells us about Vietnam’s ties to India 

Vietnamese do not write revisionist histories to deny the migration of Indian princes, merchants, and philosophers in the first millennium.

India’s amiable history with Vietnam began with peaceful migration to Southeast Asia from the beginning of the Common Era, and discovery of new land and sea routes. Yet, modern Vietnamese consider India distant and remote. Vietnamese visitors to India are “disappointed” at India’s miniscule Buddhist community. The scholars Thi Oanh Nguyen and Thuy Nguyen Pham allude to “differences in culture, customs, and languages,” and “political institutions, [and] national development strategies.” Rarely are Indian films and television shows broadcast. Just over 31,400 Vietnamese visited India in 2018.

India’s influence is acknowledged, not suppressed

Indian culture reached Vietnam in “benign and peaceful” waves, while China’s onslaught was “forceful and potent.” India is neither a threat, nor concerning, some Vietnamese assert. Without surveys we cannot be sure this is a majority view.

Clearer is that Vietnamese do not write revisionist histories to deny the migration of Indian princes, merchants, and philosophers in the first millennium. There is recognition of the Hinduised Champa as a pillar of Vietnamese culture.

Even with its long existence between the 2nd and 17th centuries CE, the Champa kingdom rapidly waned in power in the second millennium. Even though Vietnamese consider the Champa foreign intruders, this is not explicitly stated. The Champa were overwhelmed by the relentless southward migratory pressure of the Kinh from the Red River valley. Instead of being decimated in a single strike, they were slowly strangulated, transforming into a tiny community of 161,729 in 2009, without agency, and posing no threat to the Kinh majority.

With no real Champa to contend with, the Kinh- dominated Vietnamese nation accepts the Champa as a cultural treasure. This makes possible reconstruction of a cultural connection with India through the Champa.

Champa heritage as the balancing factor

Thus, Vietnamese attitudes towards the Champa are complex and pragmatic. In the modern age a non- threatening Champa heritage, spawning an industry in scholarship and preservation of monuments, has served as an elite- level link to balance China’s impact. The Champa are not the beat of ordinary folk, but they, too, like the Kinh, have a history of struggle, having thrown off allegiance to China in the 6th century CE.

Poshanu Cham (in Vietnam, Champa is Cham) temple in Binh Thuan province. (Source: Vu Thi Thu Ha)

Under a 2014 Memorandum of Understanding on conservation and restoration of the My Son World Heritage Site, the Archaeological Survey of India completed conservation of three blocks of Cham temples in December 2022. Following the virtual summit between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 21, 2020, a road map for Indian assistance in the preservation of My Son, the Dong Duong Buddhist monastery in Quang Nam, and the Nhan Stupa in Phu Yen was set.

Contemporary limitations of ancient cultural ties

However, neither history nor cultural diplomacy are central to the modern India- Vietnam partnership. Severance of contact during colonial rule meant that historical ties are cited rhetorically. History has first to be reconstructed before it deploys. There is a desire to remember ancient cultural ties through research and restoration of monuments, but Vietnam prefers to develop a partnership along multiple axes.

Besides, differing cultural practices limit the political uses of culture. Indians display cultural misunderstanding. As I have argued elsewhere Vietnamese avoid dissent considering it impolite. Yet, they do not readily yield, if at all. This serves the purposes of stability and order. Grandstanding is not a Vietnamese trait and Vietnamese reticence collides against Indian exuberance and argumentation.

The China angle which keeps India relevant

Yet, without an alternative Vietnam still perseveres with use of Indian culture to balance China’s. The cultural contest between China and India is ancient. Vietnam was historically divided into a Sinic zone from the north up to the city of Hue, and an Indic zone down to the south. These cultures overlapped and there was not a “clash of civilisations,” but a putative China- India rivalry emerged amid unaware protagonists.

The late Vietnamese Prime Minister, Pham Van Dong, had once said that ties to India were “as clear as the blue sky without any clouds.” Such sentiments make India’s role as a cultural provider acceptable.

Deploying a cultural balance is a reminder to citizens of the need to remain vigilant against Chinese influences and push back. This serves Vietnam’s China- weary identity politics and bolsters the legitimacy of the state. Vietnam is not alone in pursuing such a strategy, but this is the lesson it holds from its complicated history with China.

Should India go along? The answer is yes. For an India lacking powerful economic or military instruments, collaboration in preservation of Champa monuments, or support for the practice of Yoga in Vietnam, demonstrates willingness to deploy an effective China- facing capability. By accepting India’s cultural interventions, Vietnam proves its value to India.