Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention date moved to accommodate Kumbh Mela, Republic Day celebrations
By Geeta Mohan
To accommodate those travelling from around the world to attend the Kumbh Mela and Republic Day, the date for the 15th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas convention has been moved from January 9 to January 21 to 23.
While Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) has been celebrated on January 9 every year, the decision to move the date this time was done as PBD 2019 will be held in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency of Varanasi.
The event also launched the commencement of online registrations for participation in the PBD Convention 2019. The government of Uttar Pradesh is the partner state for the convention.
“In 2003 it was during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure that we decided to dedicate a day for overseas Indians. While deciding on the date, it was felt that it should be on the day Mahatma Gandhi – the most important overseas Indian – returned to India from South Africa and became the main protagonist of India’s freedom struggle. So it was decided that January 9 should be celebrated as Pravasi Bhartiya Divas,” said Sushma Swaraj explaining the history of PBD.
She added that she received a lot of requests from various quarters to postpone the event by a few days in order to include Kumbh Mela and January 26 celebrations in their itinerary. “We will be celebrating PBD on January 9 but have decided to move the big event to a later date to accommodate the wishes and requests of our overseas Indians,” she said.
A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs explained the reason for the change in date.
“In reverence to the sentiments of the larger diaspora to participate in Kumbh Mela and Republic Day celebrations, the 15th PBD Convention is being organised from 21 to 23 January 2019 instead of 9th January. The convention will be held at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. After the convention, participants would be given the opportunity to visit Prayagraj for Kumbh Mela on January 24, 2019 and witness the Republic Day Parade at New Delhi on 26th January 2019,” it said.
The three day event will kick-off with the inauguration of the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on January 21 which will be held in partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Himanshu Gulati, Member of Parliament of Norway, will be the special guest and Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, Member of Parliament of New Zealand will be the guest of honour at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
The government of Uttar Pradesh will also organise the state PBD 2019 on January 21, 2019. “PBD is an event for overseas Indians to connect with India and with their culture yet again. They have preserved their culture wherever they live in the world,” said Yogi Adityanath.
On January 22, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the PBD convention. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius, will be the chief guest of the convention.
On January 23, the valedictory address will be delivered and Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards will be conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind.
PBD convention is the flagship event of the government and provides an important platform to engage and connect with the overseas diaspora. The theme of PBD 2019 is the “Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India”.
On January 24, arrangements will be made by the UP government for them to experience Kumbh Snan (holy bath) at the sangam.
“We are proud to have been given this opportunity to host this event… I am thankful to the External Affairs Minister. We will be welcoming all participants to Kashi to ensure they feel at home. Arrangements for the same have already begun. We are going to organise Swiss cottages and hotels as well as home stay experience for travellers,” said Yogi Adityanath.
With a focus on “religious tourism”, the Chief Minister said Kashi is prepared to host the guests and take the opportunity to show them important religious places.
“After the event, all the guests will move to Prayagraj where they will not only see the sangam but will also be taken to various other places that are connected to the times of Ramayan like the Ashram of Rishi Bharadwaj, Singarpur which is famous for the friendship of Lord Ram and Nishadraj, or the Ganga-Yamuna-Saraswati sangam. We will be taking them to ‘Akshay Vat Vriksha’ which covers thousands of years of Indian culture”, he said.
The Railway ministry has offered to bring the participants to Delhi and they will then be able to attend the Republic Day celebrations on January 26.
Source: https://www.indiatoday.in