Trimurti Annual Family Gathering 2020

Celebration of Achievements
45^th Anniversary of Trimurti
28 November 2020

Remarks by High Commissioner

President of Trimurti, Mr. Umesh Basant Rai
The Founding members and other executive members of Trimurti

Good evening to all of you.

May I also begin by paying respect to the Braveheart Police Officer Ms. Raghoo who laid down her life in the line of duty showing extraordinary courage and disregarding threat to her life. She is a hero.

May I also express our gratitude to all the frontliners, who have been battling the health and environment emergency in recent months in Mauritius, all of them are true inspiration for the younger generation.

May I thank you for inviting me and my wife to this Trimurti family event and may I congratulate all of you on this landmark 45^th Anniversary. I have had the occasion of briefly interacting with some of your members recently. You have all distinguished yourselves in public service and in promoting social and cultural causes.

While you were introducing the concept of Trimurti, the name of your organization in terms of the concept of creation, preservation and destruction, I was reminded of India’s gift to the world’s leading Particle Physics Lab CERN based in Geneva, which houses a Particle accelerator. The gift is Natraja, the iconic symbol of cosmic dance that represents the eternal cycle of time of creation, preservation, destruction and then recreation.

India and Mauritius are no strangers, they share absolutely unique ties and that is why, it has been a special privilege for me to serve in Mauritius. It has been professionally and personally enriching and satisfying.

You mentioned the need to avoid stagnation. It is a very valid point.

India-Mauritius engagement is also constantly evolving. It started with the base of people to people ties and the common struggle for the decolonization. Our ties were based on cultural, family and spiritual linkages. After Independence, there was close coordination in education and institutional capacity building. This was followed by collaboration in financial services and IT. And now, we see several large joint projects being implemented where many good Indian companies are working.

We must continue to reinvent the engagement continuously. Collaboration in setting up of higher education hub to provide quality and affordable education for the region, as also a hub for areas such as pharmaceuticals and healthcare are promising areas. Ocean economy, innovation, R&D, and high technology are other areas of collaboration. We are stepping up engagement in EEZ surveillance, Anti-drug trafficking, climate change mitigation and disaster response. Improving connectivity for trade and investment linkages is another area of future collaboration.

The day I arrived here, we first went for a darshan of Ganga Talao, the sacred lake. From there, we went looking for Dhollpuri at a roadside dhaba, which did not disappoint. We now love Mauritian cuisine including seafood. We have enjoyed walking tours of Port Louis and our weekend drives around the island.

I have been fortunate to accompany Hon’ble Prime Minister during his visit to India to Kumbh Mela and for the Swearing-in ceremony of our Council of Ministers following the largest elections in the world last year. We have worked on inauguration of major projects such as Metro and ENT hospital. The Metro has already crossed the 2 million passenger mark. Those of you wo have not yet travelled on Metro, I would strongly recommend a ride. Nowhere in the world can you see the Indian Ocean, the volcanic hills and canefields in one shot. The ENT hospital has been useful during the pandemic time.

The video that you shared on the evolution of Trimurti was informative and useful. Communication is an important aspect of our lives today and its significance is growing. It is equally important in diplomacy. H.E. Ambassador Dillum very kindly attended one of our events yesterday where Hon’ble Minister launched our Youtube channel, where all the related technical work has been done in-house.

It is important to communicate our civilizational heritage and linkages to the younger generation. However, this is not easy. The youth today want logical, rational explanations and utility of such interaction or ideas. We have to make special efforts, including through audio visual media and social media platforms to convey a better understanding of the contemporary themes such as environment protection, human rights, gender empowerment already deeply embedded in our collective civilizational heritage.

I am especially happy to see Trimurti focusing on recognizing academic excellence among the youth.

I wish you well in your future endeavors and would like to say that the High Commission of India will be very willing to support or partner your initiatives. We look forward to engaging further.

Best wishes.

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