On the sidelines of the BRICS Culture Ministers' Meeting in Bhopal, Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat sat down with H.E. Fadli Zon, Indonesia's Minister of Culture, for a bilateral that reached back centuries — and forward into a shared diplomatic future. The two ministers reviewed India's ongoing assistance in restoring the Prambanan Temple Complex, a 9th-century Hindu temple complex in Indonesia that has become a living symbol of the subcontinent's civilisational reach across the seas.

Prambanan: where stone and diplomacy meet

The Prambanan Temple Complex in central Java is one of Southeast Asia's most spectacular Hindu monuments — and India's involvement in its conservation is not merely technical. It is a statement. The restoration project, which India supports through expertise and assistance, frames New Delhi's engagement with Jakarta as something older and deeper than trade ledgers or defence pacts. 'Our discussions focused on further strengthening the centuries-old civilisational and cultural ties between India and Indonesia,' Shekhawat said, describing the meeting as 'warm and productive.'

The two sides reviewed progress on the conservation initiative and discussed expanding cultural exchanges and people-to-people connections. Shekhawat framed the work explicitly as 'preserving our common heritage for future generations' — language that positions India not as a donor, but as a co-custodian of a shared past.

Modi's Indonesia visit as the diplomatic launchpad

The Bhopal bilateral did not emerge in a vacuum. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Indonesia in 2018 laid the groundwork for precisely this kind of structured cultural cooperation, with both governments agreeing then to expand exchanges and people-to-people contacts. Shekhawat's meeting with Fadli Zon is, in effect, the ministerial follow-through — converting a leaders' handshake into institutional momentum.

India has consistently used multilateral frameworks like BRICS to conduct this kind of bilateral cultural diplomacy with ASEAN partners. Hosting the Culture Ministers' Meeting in Bhopal — itself a city of deep historical layering — amplifies that signal.

The India-Indonesia civilisational thread

The Hindu-Buddhist heritage that connects India and Indonesia is not rhetorical shorthand. The name 'Indonesia' itself is rooted in the Greek and Sanskrit words for 'Indian islands.' The Ramayana and Mahabharata remain living traditions in Balinese and Javanese culture. Successive Indian governments have leaned into this civilisational link as a force-multiplier for bilateral ties — soft power with ancient roots.

What to watch now: whether the Bhopal meeting produces a follow-up cultural MoU or a fresh progress report on the Prambanan project, both of which are anticipated under the BRICS Culture Ministers' framework.

India's cultural diplomacy in Southeast Asia has found its most durable expression not in press releases, but in scaffolding around a 9th-century temple. That is the kind of statecraft that outlasts election cycles.