Bhubaneswar: President of Trinidad and Tobago Christine Carla Kangaloo Thursday said India has made some of the “greatest contributions” to the world civilization in various fields such as mathematics, medicine and navigation.
Addressing the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, 2025 convention virtually as the chief guest, Kangaloo said, “India’s contributions to the world’s development are remarkable. The world’s first university was established in Takshashila in 700 BC.”
Stating that Ayurveda is widely acknowledged as an earlier school of medicine, she said that the art of navigation was born in the Sindhu river about 6,000 years ago.
“Algebra, trigonometry and calculus were also first developed in India,” she said.
This apart, Kangaloo also noted that India was the first country of civilization which used the symbol zero (0) in arithmetic operations. The game of chess is also believed to have originated in eastern India while the decimal system is widely acknowledged to have been developed in India.
“And India’s very own Shushruta is widely acknowledged to be the father of surgery,” she said.
India is one of the countries that established diplomatic relations with Trinidad and Tobago following the country’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, Kangaloo said.
“Our country’s ties with India, however, long precedes that. Our relationship goes back to 1845 when the first ship carrying 225 Indians reached the shores of Trinidad and Tobago, then a British colony,” she said.
Nearly 72 unbroken years thereafter, more than 1,43,000 Indians came from cities and states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and many others, reshaping the social, demographic, economic and cultural landscape of Trinidad and Tobago forever, the Trinidad and Tobago President said.
“They were a fascinating mix of people – languages, tradition and belief system, all united in a new life,” Kangaloo said.
Lauding India’s efforts in holding the PBD, she said that over the last two decades, this convention has been collaborating between India and its diaspora.
Kangaloo thanked India for conferring the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) on her. The award will be handed over by President Murmu Friday.
“In conferring the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (award), the government and the people of India give powerful expression to the commitment to strengthen the ties between India and all of its children throughout the world,” she said.
Indians who settled in Trinidad & Tobago not only survived but also thrived in their adopted homeland, Kangaloo said adding that her country has benefited immensely from the tradition and values of PIOs.
“We have learned and benefited from the courage, resilience and willingness to sacrifice, “ Kangaloo said.
She said that Trinidad and Tobago faces many challenges like any other developing nation.
“But, the country has the advantage of the rich legacy of courage and determination of our citizens of Indian descendant,” Kangaloo said adding that she was grateful to India for being selected as the chief guest of the PBD.
The President said that she was told that cricketer Brian Lara is loved in India and so also Sachin Tendulkar in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Our trade relation is robust. We enjoy our rich cultural cooperation with India and received COVID-19 vaccines from India,” she said.
The chief guest at the last Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in Indore of Madhya Pradesh last time in January 2023 was President Mohamed Irfaan Ali of Guyana.
PTI
