Indians celebrate 67th Republic Day with honour |28 January 2016
Guests interacting during the reception
The Indian community in Seychelles came together on Tuesday night at the International Conference Centre (ICCS) to commemorate the 67th Republic Day of India.
Though India became a free nation on August 15, 1947, it declared itself a sovereign, democratic and republic state with the adoption of the Constitution on January 26, 1950. A 21-gun salute and the unfurling of the Indian national flag by Dr Rajendra Prasad heralded the historic birth of the Indian Republic Day. Thereafter January 26 was decreed a national holiday and was recognised as the Republic Day of India.
The activities to commemorate the day here on Tuesday evening were organised by the Indian high commission and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
Present at the ceremony were the Minister for Social Affairs, Community Development and Sports Vincent Meriton, the Minister for Investment, Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation Michael Benstrong, the Indian high commissioner Sanjay Panda, the chairperson of the Indian Association of Seychelles Ramu Pillay, among other guests.
Minister Meriton stated that the Seychelles-India relationship is built on conviction and friendship.
“Seychelles will always consider its relationship with India as one that is based on trust and friendship. Over the years, we have witnessed India’s unwavering commitment in helping us to achieve our development goals, especially when it comes to our shared vision of putting our people at the centre of development,” he said.
He added that India has played a key role in building the Seychelles that we see today. This is through technical assistance, grants, lines of credit and numerous donations such as the new interceptor boat named Hermes.
“This new boat will allow us to increase our maritime security capability. We would like to note that this donation came at a very crucial time when we are fighting against drug trafficking, human smuggling and illegal fishing,” the minister pointed out.
High Commissioner Panda talked about the history of India, and the great bond that ties Seychelles to India.
He recalled the visit last year to Seychelles by the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and also the visit of President James Michel to India.
The highlight of the ceremony on Tuesday evening was a dance performance by famous dancer Emelee Ghosh. She specialises in the kathak dance form.
Kathak is the major classical dance of northern India. The word kathak means ‘to tell a story’. These bards, performing in village squares and temple courtyards, mostly specialised in recounting mythological and moral tales from the scriptures, and embellished their recitals with hand gestures and facial expressions.
All the other artists who also performed on the night were honoured by Minister Meriton, Mr Pillay, High Commissioner Panda and two members of the Indian association.
There was also the traditional lighting of the lamp and a fashion show by children demonstrating the different states of India.
Before the ceremony at the ICCS there was a small reception at the Sea Front Restaurant where guests interacted in an informal way with each other. Present were former President James Mancham, the British high commissioner Caron Röhsler, among other guests.
