Assembling UK–India relations through the cultural and creative industries

Abstract

Culture and the creative economy reflect inherently ideological interpretations and meanings when embedded within policy agendas. We situate culture and the creative economy within contemporary UK–India relations by specifically charting the rise of the CCIs as a policy agenda. Utilising the notion of assembling futures (Harrison 2015. “Beyond ‘natural’ and ‘cultural’ heritage: Toward an ontological politics of heritage in the age of the Anthropocene.” Heritage and Society 8 (1): 24–42. doi:10.1179/2159032X15Z.00000000036), we argue that the rise of CCIs reflects wider currents and processes of marketisation and neoliberalism alongside more hard power strategies pertaining to the uses of culture within areas of trade, security and defence by respective UK and Indian governments. By analysing the 2030 Roadmap for UK–India Future Relations, we highlight how culture and creativity have been hardwired into the construction of a narrative for strategic UK–India relations precisely as definitional, regulatory, trade and policy terms of the CCIs are being assembled.