Prime minister Narendra Modi on January 9 addressed the 17th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention – this time in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore – and declared himself happy to see it organised in ‘the heart of India‘. This year’s Pravasi Bharatitya Divyas theme is ‘Diaspora: Reliable partners for India’s progress in Amrit Kaal’.
Chandrikapersad Santokhi, the president of the Republic of Suriname, and Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the president of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, were among the special guests, as was Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. More than 3,500 diaspora members – from 70 countries – registered for the event, news agency ANI said.
Here are prime minister Modi’s top quotes from his address at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas:
- This Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is special in many ways. The nation has entered ‘Amrit Kaal’ for the next 25 years and our Pravasi Bhartiya community has a significant role to play in further elevating India’s role on global levels.
- Each and every Pravasi Bhartiya present here has achieved unprecedented success in their respective fields. I’m happy that the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is being organised in Madhya Pradesh, which also is called the ‘Heart of India’.
- I would like you all to relish food in Indore – a city which is known for its delicacies from namkeen to poha; everything here has an unforgettable taste. Chappan dukan is highly famous and the Sarafa market is a world-renowned venue.
- The digital exhibition displaying our freedom struggle has been organised here and it brings the glorious era in front of you all again.
- ‘Swadesho Bhuvantrayam’ means ‘for us, the whole world is our country, only human beings are our brothers and sisters’. It was on this ideological foundation that our forefathers shaped the cultural expansion of India.
About the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Honour/Award) is the highest Indian award for Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India or an organisation or institution established and run by Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Origin, constituted by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Government of India in conjunction with the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-Resident Indian Day), to honour exceptional and meritorious contribution in their chosen field/profession. The award is given by the President of India. Since 2016, the Government of India has doubled the number of awardees each year to 30 after a decision to grant the award once every two years.
“A jury-cum-awards committee, with (the) Vice President as the chairman and External Affairs Minister as the vice-chair and other distinguished members from various walks of life considered the nominations…and unanimously selected the awardees,” the Ministry of External Affairs stated in a release.
When Pravasi Bharatiya Divas started?
A High-Level Committee on Indian Diaspora, headed by jurist and Parliamentarian LM Singhvi, had recommended in January 2002 that the government must renew and strengthen linkages of overseas Indians to their place of origin, and with each other.
The committee recommended that a Pravasi Bharatiya Bhavan should be set up to emerge as the focal point for networking between India and its overseas Indian community; and as a suitable place which to commemorate the stories of the Indian Diaspora. The idea of a day to have the government recognise the community flowed from this, and was held in 2003.
January 9 was selected as it was the date when Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915. Over the years, he has often been described as the first non-resident Indian of the most famous NRI by various politicians, including PM Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Since 2015, the centenary year of Gandhi’s return, the format was revised for the meeting to be held once every two years. Since the pandemic, this will be the first in-person meeting.
List of Overseas Indians given the honor
Sr. No. Person Country Field
1 Jagadish Chennupati Australia Science & Tech/ Education
2 Sanjeev Mehta Bhutan Education
3 Dilip Loundo Brazil Art & Culture/Education
4 Alexander Maliakel John Brunei Medicine
5 Vaikuntam Iyer Lakshmanan Canada Community Welfare
6 Joginder Singh Nijjar Croatia Art & Culture/Education
7 Ramjee Prasad Denmark Information Technology
8 Kannan Ambalam Ethiopia Community Welfare
9 Amal Kumar Mukhopadhyay Germany Community Welfare
10 Mohamed Irfaan Ali Guyana Community Welfare
11 Reena Vinod Pushkarna Israel Business
12 Maqsooda Sarfi Shiotani Japan Education
13 Rajagopal Mexico Education
14 Amit Kailash Chandra Lath Poland Business
15 Parmanand Sukhumal Daswani Congo Community Welfare
16 Piyush Gupta Singapore Business
17 Mohanlal Hira South Africa Community Welfare
18 Sanjaykumar Shivabhai Patel South Sudan Business
19 Sivakumar Nadesan Sri Lanka Community Welfare
20 Dewanchandrebhose Sharman Suriname Community Welfare
21 Archana Sharma Switzerland Science & Technology
22 Frank Arthur Seepersad Trinidad Education
23 Siddharth Balachandran UAE Business
24 Chandrakant Babubhai Patel UK Media
25 Darshan Singh Dhaliwal USA Community Welfare
26 Rajesh Subramaniam USA Business
27 Ashok Kumar Tiwary Uzbekistan Business