DIPLOMATS TO INDIA EMPIRE
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High Commissioner of India to Trinidad and Tobago
MARCH 2021
Culture is a very important aspect of our relationship. 42% of the Trinbagonian population has Indian ancestry, 18% of them are practising Hindus, 5% are Muslims and the others are of Christian faiths (especially the Presbyterian faith). They celebrate Diwali, Phagwa/Holi, Shiv Ratri, Janmashtami and Christmas with traditional gaiety and fervour.
Indian music, dance, Bollywood films, among others, constitute an integral part of the local cultural heritage. A melange of Indian and African music has given rise to new genres called Soca and Chutney. People of Indian descent, despite tremendous hardships and privations, have risen to new heights such as Nobel Laureate Sir Vidia Naipaul who was from T&T, Shri Basdeo Panday and Smt. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who both rose to become the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. The West Indian cricket team also has many players of Indian descent. Cultural Troupes from India visit T&T from time to time.
Trinidad and Tobago is the largest economies in the Caribbean region. It provides good opportunities for forging win-win synergies. I have identified 8 main areas of co-operation.
· IT and ITES.
· Pharmaceuticals.
· Agro-biotechnology.
· New Energy (wind and solar).
· Tourism, including medical tourism.
· Higher education.
· Automobiles.
· Ayurveda and wellness.
Our Development partnership programmes, such as Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programmes, have doubled in recent years. ICCR-sponsored scholarships are also available for youth to study in the areas of arts, science and engineering in India. The High Commission of India is actively engaged in the promotion of Hindi in T&T with the help of local Hindi teachers and the Government of India offers full scholarships to students in T&T, Grenada and Dominica to study Hindi in India.
-H.E. Mr Arun Kumar Sahu, High Commissioner of India to Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Dominica, Montserrat
OCTOBER 2013
First of all, let me thank you profoundly for inviting me for this interview, and I'd also like to congratulate you in terms of various publications on India Diaspora that you're coming up with. I greatly value the contribution you have made. So far as my journey and diplomatic life is concerned, I've done my diplomatic work in the best possible way. In the assignment I just concluded in Hungary, the Hungarian foreign minister has given me a wonderful letter appreciating my work. The Hungarian Government has written that they'd like to bestow the highest civilian award to me. Of course, the Government of India does not allow civil servants to receive awards but the very fact that Government of Hungary has expressed its desire of honouring me in writing, speaks for itself. In an earlier assignment as ambassador of India to Mongolia I had done my best to take Indo-Mongolian relationships to a new height. I had given top priority to my work for which I am paid by the people of India and by the Government of India. The salaries and perks we cherish are the contributions of the poor people of India by way of taxes. I firmly believe that we should do justice to the job we are assigned in the best interests of the nation.
-H.E. Mr Gauri Shankar Gupta, High Commissioner of India to Trinidad and Tobago
OCTOBER 2009
Holding of a Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) on a smaller scale in Trinidad has already engaged my mind. In fact, I made this suggestion as part of the recommendations of the one-day Seminar on Diaspora in the Caribbean which this Mission had organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) at the University of West Indies on 16 August this year. This has found a positive resonance from the diaspora in the Caribbean and the matter has since been pursued with MOIA. I understand the Ministry would be positively inclined to hold a mini-PBD some time next year. Of course, I would consult with the T&T Government authorities as well, since the host Government's participation would be important in the holding of the Conference.
-H.E. Mr Malay Mishra, High Commissioner of India to Trinidad and Tobago
MARCH 2009
Trinidad has the largest percentage of Indians anywhere in the Caribbean. That has given the overseas Indian community good grounding, exposure, allowed them to live, to work and yet maintain cultural and emotional ties with India. They are the first bridge between the two nations. My role as the High Commissioner of India in that sense is to first of all assess the strengths of PIOs who'd been in the local milieu over generations, and assess also how best they've socially and culturally assimilated. We are looking at two major Indian groups in Trinidad, one that migrated in the colonial period whose later day generation is well established. The other one is that which went after the independence of both India and Trinidad and Tobago and has established itself in academics, trade, and as entrepreneurs. We need to see how it has networked, and how best its resources can be made use of. One of my roles will be to see how the diaspora can take advantage of developments in India, and contribute to India's development.
-H.E. Mr Malay Mishra, High Commissioner of India to Trinidad and Tobago