Warm Welcome to Mauritius PM in Patna
Patna: February 18, 2008
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Warm Welcome to Mauritius PM
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Photo by Shashi Uttam |
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Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolaam, after disembarking from a special Air Force aircraft at Patna Airport on Monday afternoon, bowed to the land of his ancestors in a gesture of respect before shaking hands with the dignitaries or accept a bouquet of flowers from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Ramgoolaam, apparently emotionally moved by touching the ground of his forefathers, bent over and picked up a pinch of soil and put it on his forehead showing his genuine love and respect for the land that produced people like his grandfather who, over 150 years ago, left India for Mauritius as indentured labors uncertain about his and his children's future.
The Mauritius PM was greeted by Kumar and several of his Cabinet members and was taken to the Raj Bhawan that would be his home for next three days.
With thousands of people lined up on both sides of the road and on top of roofs and balconies, the PM's cavalcade then arrived at the Gandhi Maidan-Exhibition Road intersection where he unveiled the 9 feet tall, 600 kilogram bronze statue of his father and the first Prime Minister of Mauritius Sir Seewusaagar Ramgoolaam in the presence of his wife Veena Ramgoolaam, sister Sunita Kumari, the Bihar Chief Minister, and a number of NDA and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders.
The district administration also coordinated the unveiling of the statue with the christening of the stretch between Subhash Park at the southeastern end of the Gandhi Maidan and the JP Roundabout at the western end near Hotel Maurya as Sir Seewusaagar Ramgoolaam Path.
The state function then moved to the nearby S. K. Memorial Hall where Ramgoolaam expressed his gratitude towards the people of Bihar and the Bihar administration for making his dream of coming to his ancestral place come true and memorable. Speaking in Bhojpuri at times, the Mauritius PM send the crowd in a frenzy of admiration and applause.
"My grandfather Mohit Ramgoolaam came from Harigaon in Bhojpur district but I consider the entire state of Bihar as my home," the PM said.
Nitish Kumar, in his speech, promised to set up a single-window system policy for people of Bihar origin in Mauritius who wished to find their family history in the state.
Kumar also pledged to set up a high school in Harigaon village named after Sir Seewusaagar Ramgoolaam and a hospital in the name of Navinchandra Ramgoolaam.
The ancestral village of Badka Singhanpura in Buxar district from where Mohit Ramgoolaam, the grandfather of Navinchandra Ramgoolam, hailed would also be developed, the Chief Minister said.
The Prime Minister also paid a visit to the historical Khudabaksh Library and observed several documents and artifacts while asking questions from the library director Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed about their historical importance.
Later, during the dinner session at the Governor's mansion, the Mauritius PM pledged to donate a quarter of a million dollar for the development of his ancestral village in Siwan district. He also said the Mauritius government would offer scholarship to two students from Bihar each year for education at the University of Mauritius.
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