Literary event during Amrit Mahotsav Celebrations by HCI, Georgetown (March 2021)
Essay writing competition. on My Impression of India to kick start the India@75 event.
Virtual symposium organised during Amrit Mahotsav Celebrations by HCI, Georgetown (April 2021)
High Commission of India in Guyana in association with the University of Guyana organized a virtual symposium on “India-Guyana Relations from 1838 to 2021” on Thursday, 29 April 2021 in run up to the series of events being organized by the Mission for 75th Anniversary of Independence Day in 2022. The virtual event coincides the occasion of celebration of ‘Indian Arrival Day’ in Guyana. Opening the Symposium, H.E. Dr. K.J. Srinivasa, High Commissioner of India informed the audience in detail about India-Guyana relations in various fields viz. Health, Infrastructure, Energy, Agriculture & Irrigation. Future possible areas of collaboration were also indicated by HC that include Electronic Medical Patient Record (EMR) System, deputation of experts in various fields such as Sugar Industries, Legal system, Electoral system, IT, media training, Air Force training, etc. It was followed by remarks from Vice Chancellor of University of Guyana, Dr. Paloma Mohamed who spoke on the relations in the education sector & mentioned that Guyanese educated in India who occupied important positions in Guyana are contributing to its progress. The symposium consisted of two panels. The first panel comprised of Hon’ble Dr. Vindhya Persaud, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Gobind Ganga, Governor, Bank of Guyana, Mr. Alim Hosein, Lecturer, University of Guyana, Mr. Tota Mangar, noted Historian and Mr. Ravi Dev, Media Consultant and HSS (Guyana) Sanghachalak. The panel held discussions on progress of relations between Guyana and India in several fields including culture, economy, diaspora relations and common history etc. since the arrival of East Indians as indentured labour in 1838 and discussed their contribution to the progress of Guyana. The second panel comprised, Mr. Vikash Ramkissoon, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. R.K. Sharma, CEO, NICIL, Dr. Dheeraj Bansal, Dean, Texila American University, Dr. Taijrani Rampersaud, Lecturer, University of Guyana and Mr. Jainarine Deonauth, Director, DECC, University of Guyana. They discussed about the experiences of their stay in India for pursuing studies. Many of them fondly remembered their beautiful memories of studying in India. The first panel focused more on Economic and historical aspects of the relations whereas the other one primarily speak on the cultural aspects. Both the panel discussions were followed by Q&A session from the audiences that were well received & replied by the panelists. Overall, the panelists concluded that India and Guyana always had very cordial relations in all possible sectors for almost two centuries and the relations are getting better and stronger with more people to people contact & the passage of time.
Cultural Events, Media Interaction, Social and Welfare Events, Educational Events, Health and Wellness Activity organised during Amrit Mahotsav Celebrations by HCI, Georgetown, May (2021)
1. Indian Arrival Day May 05, 2021 - India@75 celebrations: High Commission celebrated 183rd Indian Arrival Day on May 05, 2021. Two cultural programmes were organized by the High Commission in commemoration of Indian Arrival Day which was broadcast in multiple Guyanese news channels and on the facebook handle of the High Commission/Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha and Indian Commemorative Trust. The programmes included display of yoga, Indian classical music and dance. High Commissioner along with Hon'ble Anand Persaud, Minister within the Ministry of Local Governance, Hon'ble David Armogan, Regional Chairman and Mr Narindra Persaud, REO of Region 6 and Mr Sohan Persaud, President of Berbice India Cultural Committee visited the Indian Arrival Monument, consisting of six bronze status donated by Government of India, at Palmyra Village in Berbice and offered floral tributes at the Monument. It was in Plantation Highbury, that the first set of East Indian Indentured labourers landed on 5 May 1838. On that day, two ships, Whitby and Hesperus, landed in the then British colony (Guyana) with approximately 396 East Indians. The dignitaries, thereafter, addressed the press and lauded the contributions of East Indians to the development of Guyana. The dignitaries also planted a palm tree in the garden around the Monument. This was followed by the visit to Lonsdale Shree Rama Krishna Mandir, the first temple constructed in Guyana in 1846, and High Commissioner gifted a set of musical instrument Tabla and a few Religious and children books to the temple for the benefit of devotees visiting the temple. 2. Felicitation ceremony Essay Competition- on the topic “My Impressions of India” for three categories, Middle School level, High School level and College level & above. I 3. High Commission organized curtain raisers at two famous destinations in Guyana, namely Iwokrama (Rain Forests) & Kaieteur Falls to kick start the promotion drive of IDY 2021 to make the impact reach the masses in making the coming IDY a success. The curtain raisers, were shot/recorded at Kaieteur Falls, the world’s largest single drop waterfall, one of the famous destinations in Guyana and Iwo krama River Lodge in the famous Amazon rain forests in Guyana to promote and propagate the advance information via pictures/videos in our website, cultural groups, diaspora organizations, TV channels, News paper advertisements and other publicity medium including social media handles of the Mission.