Bobby Ali
(bobby1969.ah@gmail.com)
For decades, the British Council has been quietly connecting India and the United Kingdom through culture, education, and the English language. But in recent years, it’s made a particularly meaningful mark in the Northeast, helping young people discover their talents, supporting local artists, and giving communities a global platform to shine.
Recently, Dr Debanjan Chakrabarti, Director of the British Council for East and Northeast India, visited Guwahati and shared how these collaborations have transformed opportunities for people across the region.
Festivals, Friendship, and a Flourishing Creative Scene
When it comes to culture, the Northeast has always been full of life and colour — and the British Council has helped that creativity reach a wider audience. Festivals and strategic collaborations drive the UK-India cultural partnership.
Take the Hornbill Festival 2024, for example. With over 2,00,000 visitors and a 33% jump in attendance, it’s not just a cultural event anymore—it’s a celebration of community, music, and art that’s now drawing international attention. The British Council has been associated with the Ziro Music Festival as well and has big plans for better engagement with festivals in Assam and the Northeast.
Empowering Creators in the New Creative Economy
The world of art and culture is changing fast, and the British Council is helping young creators keep pace. Through its creative economy programmes, it supports artists, festival organisers, and cultural entrepreneurs to develop new skills, find funding, and collaborate internationally.
One standout initiative is the Festivals from India portal — a one-of-a-kind online space that connects Indian and UK festivals. Imagine a digital meeting place where festival organisers, musicians, and curators can find each other, share ideas, and plan global projects.
And it’s not just about big festivals. Grants through Wales Arts International have helped smaller, independent artists from India and Wales create meaningful projects that blend cultures and push creative boundaries.
Giving Assamese Writers a Global Voice
The translation ecosystem in India continues to face a shortage of structured training opportunities. At the same time, aspiring fiction writers—particularly those working in regional languages—often remain marginalised due to circumstance, language barriers, and limited avenues for professional development.
The Write Assamese project was conceived to address these gaps by creating a sustained platform for high-quality translations and contemporary fiction emerging from Assam, aimed at reaching wider national and international audiences.
A collaboration between Untold Narratives and BEE Books, the project was supported under India/UK Together, a Season of Culture, the British Council’s landmark programme marking India’s 75th year of independence.
As part of the project, 13 authors and translators participated in a creative residency designed to mentor and develop new writing and translation talent from Assam. The outcomes of this residency were published as A Fistful of Moonlight: An Anthology of Contemporary Assamese Short Stories (BEE Books, January 2023). The book has been well-received, not only by readers across the country but also by those in the UK, and it is a commercial success.
The anthology — available on Amazon — captures the richness and diversity of contemporary Assamese storytelling. It was showcased at the International Kolkata Book Fair and launched at Cotton University, Guwahati, bringing regional voices into the national literary spotlight. For many of these writers, this project was their first chance to work with editors, translators, and mentors from outside the region.
From the UK to Guwahati — Through the Airwaves
If you’re a late-night radio listener, you might have caught Selector Radio—an exciting collaboration between the British Council and Radio Gup-Shup 94.3 FM.
For 36 weeks between mid-2022 and early 2023, this show played the freshest UK music across stations in Guwahati, Aizawl, Itanagar, Dhubri, and Haflong. It wasn’t just about introducing British bands — it was about connecting musical cultures and showing how rhythm and creativity transcend borders.
Weaving the Future: Sustainable Fashion in Assam
In 2022, the British Council supported a project close to many hearts — the preservation of Mishing weaving traditions in Assam. Working with the Impulse NGO Network, the project trained artisans in using organic yarns and introduced new designs inspired by folklore. The communities benefitted directly from the training and internationalisation of designs.
The results were showcased at the Northeast Festival 2022 and even caught the eye of IKEA, which supported the initiative. Artisans from Baligaon and Panibari now create high-quality, eco-friendly products for elite buyers in India and abroad.
Learning Without Borders
Education has always been a cornerstone of the British Council’s work. In line with India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the organisation is helping universities become more international in their outlook.
In Guwahati, a capacity-building programme brought together 42 participants from 28 universities across the Northeast. The goal? To help institutions build global partnerships and make the region a hub for international learning.
Then there’s the ‘Climate Skills – Seeds for a Transition India’ workshop. The two-day regional workshop commenced recently at the Centre for Himalayan Studies, Gauhati University, bringing 112 participants from across eight Northeastern states and other places like Odisha, West Bengal, South Africa, and Thailand to strengthen climate knowledge, leadership, and action through experiential learning.
Jointly organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the British Council, in collaboration with HSBC, and hosted by Gauhati University as the Knowledge Partner, the initiative aims to equip young changemakers with the skills, confidence, and community connections needed to design local solutions to global climate challenges. Following successful editions in Goa, Bengaluru, New Delhi, and Bhopal, the Guwahati workshop concludes the regional phase of the series, fostering local leadership, peer learning, and sustainable action.
Last month, a fabulous workshop was organised for the training of international officers of universities. NEP 2020 has the ambition of internationalizing the education of India. International officers of Indian universities play a key role in the internationalization of education. The UK has a certain degree of expertise in international education. Four of the world’s top 10 universities are British universities, 17 of the world’s top 100 universities are British universities, and the UK has set up the largest number of international branch campuses in India. So, with Keir Starmer’s recent visit and his meeting with Prime Minister Modi, there will be nine British universities setting up international branch campuses in India.
Teaching, Learning, and Connecting Through English
The British Council’s English programmes are known across India for setting global standards in language education. But here too, the focus isn’t just on grammar and vocabulary—it’s about opportunity and inclusion.
The Council works with schools, governments, and universities to improve English teaching while also promoting multilingual learning. After all, India’s linguistic diversity is one of its strengths. English, in this vision, becomes a bridge—not a barrier—helping students access global opportunities while staying rooted in their own culture.
This approach is supported by ongoing research with top UK universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, to explore how English can be taught effectively in multilingual classrooms.
There are four bilateral agreements which are driving this cooperation between India and the UK: the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications, the India-UK Vision 2035, and the programme of cultural cooperation.
The most important one in the education space is Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications, or MRQ. Mutual recognition of academic qualifications allows Indian students’ academic credentials to be accepted on par with British universities when they move to study there and vice versa. This will enhance the mobility of young talent both ways.
At its heart, the British Council’s work is about people — the weaver in Assam, the writer in Guwahati, the student in Shillong, and the musician in Aizawl. Each of these stories adds up to a larger picture of connection, creativity, and collaboration.
From classrooms to craft centres, the British Council’s work in Northeast India proves that when people share ideas and cultures, they don’t just learn—they grow together.