New Delhi/Cuttack: Speaking at a banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan for Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, she recalled the ‘millennia-old civilisational links’ between India and Indonesia.
She specifically mentioned Odisha’s ‘Bali Jatra,’ a festival that commemorates the ancient maritime journeys undertaken by Indian seafarers and traders to Bali and other regions of the Indo-Pacific.
President Subianto also said that Indonesia has deep civilisational links with India and many Indonesian names come from Sanskrit, asserting that he has “Indian DNA”.
Subianto was the chief guest at India’s 76th Republic Day celebrations Sunday.
Speaking at the banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Indonesian president also referred to his country’s cultural links with India, saying he starts dancing whenever he hears Indian music.
Subianto said he had come to India for a few days, but he learnt a lot from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, programmes and commitment to alleviate poverty.
“Your (Modi’s) commitment to help the marginalised, to help the weakest part of your society, is an inspiration for us…Why not follow a good example. especially when you have many good examples,” he said.
Citing ancient civilisation links between India and Indonesia, Subianto said, “A very important part of our language comes from Sanskrit. Our names, many names of Indonesia are actually Sanskrit names. And, in our daily life the influence of ancient Indian civilisation is very strong. I think it is also part of our genetics”.
“I would like to report to the president, prime minister, vice-president’ — a few weeks ago, I had my genetic sequencing test and my DNA test, and they tell me that I have Indian DNA,” he said.
The comments left Modi and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, who were sitting adjacent to the visiting dignitary, and the entire gathering in splits.
Adding a touch of Bollywood to the event, an Indonesian delegation also sang the superhit song “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”.
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The Indonesian president said he was determined to accelerate the cooperation and the symbiotic relationship between India and Indonesia.
“In very important fields of health, pharmaceuticals, education, culture, capacity building, defence, security, digital cooperation, maritime safety and security, we have come to close understanding and we would like to implement all our substantial agreements and consensus,” he said.
Subianto said both sides had very intensive meetings and substantive agreements, consensus.
“We want to accelerate and substantiate the strategic and comprehensive partnership between India and Indonesia,” he said.
Subianto said he was honoured because on India’s first Republic Day celebration, the guest of honour was also the president of the Republic of Indonesia.
“Our first president, and our proclamator of Independence, Mr Sukarno… This is indeed a great honour for me. That means I am following in the footsteps of the founding father of the Republic of Indonesia,” he said.
Welcoming Subianto, Murmu said that civilisational ties between India and Indonesia go back thousands of years.
“The values of pluralism, inclusiveness and rule of law are common to both countries and these shared values have given direction to our contemporary relations,” she said.
Murmu also noted that Indonesia is a key pillar of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and Indo-Pacific Vision.
PNN & Agencies
