London: The United Kingdom on Thursday expressed its greetings for India’s 74th Republic Day with a personal message from the country’s foreign minister James Cleverly to his Indian counterpart, Dr S. Jaishankar.
UK Foreign Secretary Cleverly took to Twitter to wish his “friend” and the people of India on the celebration of the day India adopted its Constitution to become a Republic.
“Happy Republic Day to my friend Dr Jaishankar and the people of India. We look forward to another year of friendship and cooperation! #RepublicDay2023,” tweeted Cleverly.
The Indian High Commission in London held its customary flag-hoisting ceremony at India House on Thursday morning. The Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, addressed the diaspora gathering to convey the speech of Indian President Droupadi Murmu.
“The Indian Constitution is a pretty remarkable document in itself. But also because it created at its get-go an equality of expectation among every citizen of India, regardless of race, creed, ethnicity or gender, that their rights were the same,” Doraiswami said on the eve of Republic Day, addressing the India Global Forum UK-India Parliamentary Lunch on Wednesday.
The High Commission will be hosting its annual Republic Day celebrations at the iconic Guildhall in London on Thursday evening, complete with patriotic fervour and cultural performances reflective of different parts of India.
Several Indian diaspora organisations have been marking Republic Day with activities involving schoolchildren and cultural events since last weekend and will continue to hold festivities over the coming weekend as well.
Several temples have organised special aartis and patriotic musical events to mark the day.
The first-ever India UK Achievers Honours, celebrating the educational and professional achievements of Indian students who studied at UK institutions, celebrated India’s Republic Day with a gala awards ceremony in London on Wednesday.
The National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK, in partnership with the British Council in India, honoured 75 high achievers from India across different categories to mark 75 years of India’s independence.
PTI

Press Trust of India