‘Made in India’: Heritage Diplomacy and the Infrastructure of Buddhist Memory

In recent decades, Buddhist sacred sites in India have become entangled in various soft power initiatives that have important religious and geopolitical im- plications in the early twenty-first century. Drawing on the concept of heritage diplomacy, this paper examines the geopolitics of Buddhism in contemporary India and how the infrastructure of Buddhist memory is central to development processes and civilisational discourses around Asia as an interlinked historical and geographic formation. In particular, it will examine different spheres of heritage influence in the Indian subcontinent and how they figure into state ideological interests and existing regional diplomatic ties, which includes building trade networks, financial aid and other strategic alliances designed to strengthen India’s image and standing in the region.