Zubair Qureshi
Acting High commissioner (Charge d’Affaires) of India Ms Geetika Srivastava along with Defence & Military Attache Brig HS Gill, senior officials of the high commission Friday evening hosted a reception to celebrate the 75th Republic Day of India.
The event was attended by a galaxy of ambassadors, diplomats, eminent personalities from sports, art, culture, politics and civil society.
Among the noted guests one could see Ambassador Donald Blome of the US, HC Leslie Scanlon of Canada, Ambassador Nicolas Galey of France, German Ambassador Alfred Grannas, classical singer Ustad Hamid Ali Khan, ex-Chairman PCB Rameez Raja, veteran politician Afrasiab Khattak and many other well-known individuals.
HC Geetika Srivastava made it a point to invite the South Asian Association of Regional Countries (SAARC) member countries’ heads of missions— Bangladesh HC Ruhul Alam Siddique, Ambassador Tapas Adhikari of Nepal,
Sri Lanka’s Acting HC Christy Ruban and Maldives representative— and the Dean of Diplomatic Corps Turkmenistan Ambassador Atadjan Movlamov to join her on the stage and while cutting the cake as well.
National anthems of India and Pakistan were also played on the occasion.
One couldn’t help noting absence of any Pakistani guest from the stage or at the time of cake cutting.
One of the ambassadors from a European country regretted that when even France and Germany, two arch rivals in World War II could put aside their differences and work together for the good of their people why India and Pakistan could not do so.
Earlier, while giving a brief background of the Republic Day, a young official of the Indian High Commission said on January 26, 1950 the constitution of India (that was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949) came into force.
The day marked India’s emergence as a sovereign democratic republic. Since Jan 26, 1950 the commencement of the Constitution is celebrated annually and in the speaker’s words its preamble started with the line “We the people of India” which signified all powers rested the the people who elected their representatives and to govern through them.
After the brief background the guests enjoyed traditional Indian cuisine including daal (pulses), vegetable and mutton dishes and of course the world famous sweets, etc
