Three distinguished foreign alumni of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) were today awarded by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the first such ceremony since the inception of the culture body.
The recipients of the ICCR 'Distinguished Alumni Awards 2015' were Ethiopia's Minister of Women, Children and Youth Affairs Zenebu Tadesse, ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh and french Kathakali dancer Milena Salvini.
Terming them as "goodwill ambassadors", Swaraj lamented the absence of any such recognition till date. "Surprisingly so far we did not have a practice of recognising such illustrious alumni. We need to highlight their links with Indian institutions."
In his remarks, ICCR President Lokesh Chandra said human unity and solidarity were needed in the world which is threatened by "terrorism, intolerance and dogmatism".
The three awardees had, at different points of time, studied or learnt their craft in Indian institutions as ICCR scholars.
Swaraj said ICCR was essentially established with the objective of fostering and strengthening cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries and to promote cultural exchanges among people.
She said the quest for knowledge has been a "fundamental" of India's culture and civilisation and since time immemorial the country has attracted knowledge seekers and inquisitive minds.
Quoting an Australian orientalist she said it was must for a person to visit India, "where the oldest literature of Indo-European people is preserved", if he wishes to know the beginning of his own culture or the oldest Indo-European culture.
"In the vedic times, our sages were not only the embodiment of wisdom, they were in fact institutions disseminating knowledge among their followers and disciples. Post vedic period showed the emergence of world renowned seats of learning which acted as magnets for the finest minds from across the world," she said.
Swaraj said the alumni of Indian institutions are playing a leading role across the world and went on to name Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Myanmar's pro-democracy crusader Aung San Suu Kyi and former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
