Even as its impact continues to reverberate across the course of modern art, questions are still being asked about the wide range of non-European artistic traditions that had influenced artists like Picasso and his contemporaries. From the consciously ‘primitive’ traditions of Africa and the South Sea and Pacific Islands, to the sophisticated world of Japanese prints, as European artists sought to escape the conventions of academic realism, they found sources of inspiration in other non-illusionistic traditions of picture-making. In its turn, the critical success of cubism would go on to inspire many artists from outside Europe. For many imitators, the practice was confined to reproducing the European methods locally; but for many critical practitioners it provided a vocabulary to access complex areas of their own artistic heritage that had come to be ignored for various reasons. Cubism, in this sense, became a wider, more capacious, process for cultural exchange, rather than a mere artistic innovation.

Some critics, like Stella Kramrisch, held Indian cubism to be a contradiction in terms, although her response to Gaganendranath’s cubist works (produced in the early 1920s) was largely positive, especially in its efforts to assimilate traditional approaches to this method, demonstrating that non-illusionist art had evolved complex procedures outside Europe as well. Soumik N. Majumdar writes, ‘she (Kramrisch) pointed out the expressive nature of Gaganendranath's Cubism wherein 'the turbulent, hovering or pacified forces of inner experiences' were projected in terms of planes, facets and cubistic forms. Kramrisch argued that despite the influence of such a 'foreign' form Gaganendranath had internalized the peculiar cultural experience of India by turning the interpenetrating order of vertical and horizontal units into an expressive 'three-dimensional context or emotional pattern'.

Tagore’s experiments were also informed by contemporary scientific experiments with light, space and questions on the divide between animate and inanimate forms, a debate with underlying colonial tensions. These turns were partly informed by his association with and admiration for the work of the pioneering Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose, who started the Bose Institute. The institute today holds a significant work by Tagore depicting Bose’s experiments with light.

George Keyt (1901-1993) was a renowned Sri Lankan painter known for his unique artistic vision that integrated traditional Sri Lankan aesthetics with modern techniques. His dominant style was influenced by Cubism, along with inspirations from ancient Buddhist art and sculpture. Keyt's work began to reflect the influence of cubism through the fragmentation of figures and objects in his compositions. He experimented with reshaping forms, breaking them down into simpler geometric components, and rearranging them in his paintings. He often flattened the picture plane and depicted multiple viewpoints simultaneously, similar to the Cubist approach, creating dynamic and multi-dimensional compositions. While Cubism is not primarily known for its colour palette, Keyt incorporated aspects of Cubist techniques into his use of colour and texture. He also adapted these techniques to explore themes and subjects drawn from elements of Sri Lankan culture, mythology, and folklore, creating a unique fusion of styles and themes.

Artists like Nirode Mazumdar and Paritosh Sen actively sought to integrate cubist methods into their work, at least during certain phases of their career. They had also travelled to study art in Paris, where Sen had met Picasso.

Paritosh Sen incorporated cubist elements into his artwork by utilizing two-dimensional, structured planes while maintaining an illusion of volume and voluptuousness. Sen's unique style combined international Modernist idioms with specifically Indian subject matter, resulting in a distinctive blend of styles – not unlike Keyt’s. Nirode Mazumdar's art displayed a blend of geometric forms, opulent use of symbols, and a complex internal organization, often based on geometrical foundations. While in Paris, he had befriended many artists, including Georges Braque. His compositions often feature flattened perspectives, fragmented forms, and a dynamic interplay of geometric shapes. These elements echo the spirit of cubism, albeit interpreted through Mazumdar's unique artistic lens. Moreover, cubism's influence on Mazumdar can be discerned in his experimentation with form and space, as well as his exploration of the inner psyche and metaphysical themes—especially in works featuring the goddess Kali, whose destructive frenzy found uncanny resonance with cubism’s impulse towards dissolution and motion.

Husain's early works demonstrate an unmistakable impact of cubism, evident in his compositional structure and manipulation of space. Furthermore, Husain's dynamic use of color and bold brushstrokes echoed the characteristics of cubism, contributing to his reputation as the ‘Picasso of India’. These influences were sometimes directly referenced by the artist’s use of geometric forms, like the dice he uses in his painting of Draupadi, or the use of the triangle in his work titled Theorem II.

For S. K. Bakre, cubism provided a new visual language that he incorporated into his artistic repertoire. Bakre's work, particularly in his later years, showed elements of geometric abstraction and fractured forms reminiscent of cubist principles. He experimented with structure and form, infusing his compositions with a sense of dynamism and depth. In works like Two Prophets in One he merged two profiles to play around with the traditional tools of portraiture, fractured by perspective.