External Affairs Sushma Swaraj today said her ministry was stressing on the Know India Program for the children of the residents of the PIO countries so that they can know their roots.
"We have Know India Program, which is only for kids of citizens of PIO countries. We take them to various parts of the country so that they get to know India. And we have seen the kind of sense of completeness they have when they meet their roots in various parts of the country," she said here.
"The residents in those countries have huge population of PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) who have kept alive their traditions. They still celebrate a lot of Indian festivals such as Diwali, just like us.
"The language of eastern UP and Bihar are still found in those countries. With their hard work and undying spirit they substantially contributed towards the development of Suriname," Swaraj said unveiling Suriname Memorial in the city honouring Indian indentured workers who migrated to South American country as labourers.
The memorial is a bust of 'Baba and Mai' - a replica of the Baba and Mai monument in Parimaribo, Suriname's capital, which symbolises the first Indian man and woman indentured worker to set feet in the Dutch speaking nation.
The memorial has been set up at the Suriname Jetty, from where the indentured workers from India used to board ships for the small country located on the northeast Atlantic coast of South America from 1873 to 1910.
"We respect and felicitate their spirit of courage, determination and endurance," reads the plaque. The first ship named 'Lalla Rookh' carrying Indian indentured labourers had reached Suriname in June 1873.
