India’s 63rd Republic Day celebrated in Colombo

The High Commission of India and the Indian expatriate community in Sri Lanka yesterday celebrated the 63rd Republic Day of India at India House in Colombo.
The High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha unfurled the National Flag and inspected a Guard of Honour presented by the BSF contingent. He read out significant excerpts from the Address to the Nation on the eve of Republic Day by the President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patil.
 The High Commissioner noted that the President of India had given the nation a clear message on its vision and goals, as it sought its destiny in a complex and challenging global environment.   He said the President’s speech underlined the need for all Indians to seek directions from India’s age-old values, the ideals of the freedom movement and the principles of the Indian Constitution, while also emphasising unity, a positive attitude and the aspiration to grow without getting distracted by discordant pulls and pressures.
He went on to summarise the state of India-Sri Lanka relations, noting that the year 2011 had witnessed impressive progress in all areas, including political, security, trade, investment, tourism, education, culture, and development cooperation, in view of the unprecedented opportunities created following the end of armed conflict in Sri Lanka.  He referred to the recent successful visits of the Minister of External Affairs of India, S.M. Krishna and that of the former President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. Dwelling on the importance of cultural cooperation and people-to-people links, he pointed out that India had just announced a three-fold increase in scholarship schemes for Sri Lanka, involving a grant of 2.5 billion Rupees.  
Indian Railways would be launching a special train named ‘Damba Diwa Vandana’, to take Sri Lankan Buddhist pilgrims from Chennai to all the major Buddhist sites in India.    The High Commissioner also announced the launch of the High Commission’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/hcicolombo), to provide an interactive platform for the various activities of the High Commission.
 

High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha addresses the ceremony