Paper short abstract:

This paper proposes to chart the development of British cultural diplomacy in India over the period 1945 to 1960. It focuses on the establishment of the British Council in India and in particular on university relations.

Paper long abstract:

This paper proposes to chart the development of British cultural diplomacy in India over the period 1945 to 1960 as recorded in British archives.

The main agent for British cultural diplomacy was the British Council, which established itself in India at the time of independence. The British government's decision to release funds for this purpose was clearly motived by its desire to maintain and redefine cultural ties with the newly-independent nation as a means to prolong British influence. The Indian government was also receptive to the British Council's proposal and sought its help in developing and extending Indian education, science and technology.

The British Council's attitude towards its role in India was complex and sought to reconcile its dual mission of both promoting British interests and favouring mutual interchange. In India, as in Canada and Australia, it sought to encourage the establishment of an Indian 'sister' council with which it could work on developing two-way cultural exchange. Underneath the commitment to reciprocity, however, lay assumptions about the senior role which would be taken by the British Council in shaping educational and cultural relations within the Commonwealth. Furthermore, the Council worked in collaboration with organisations such as the Association of the Universities of the British Commonwealth whose origins lay in the period of empire. Hence attempts to foster university exchange also built on longstanding networks which would have to adapt to the end of empire.