Kerala’s high literacy, high human development index, enviable progress in areas such as public health and international linkages figured in the interaction between the participants of the 56th Know India programme and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.
The event was organised by the Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with the government of Kerala and the participants hail from Fiji, Guyana, Israel, Myanmar, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Mauritius, and Malaysia.
When a delegate from Israel expressed surprise about the oldest synagogue in Kochi, the Governor reminded her of Swami Vivekananda’s Chicago address that had described India as “a nation that has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth”. “Diversity has been a great strength to India. To live in diversity, you need knowledge,” he said.
The Know India programme was arranged to engage and make the young Indian diaspora feel a sense of connect with their motherland. The participants, mostly in the 18-30 age group, had visited the Muziris Fort, Kerala Kalamandalam, Balaramapuram handloom village, and the VSSC as part of the programme that will end on October 15.
