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ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SURINAME
HIS EXCELLENCY RUNALDO RONALD VENETIAAN
AT THE OPENING SESSION OF
THE “SEVENTH WORLD HINDI CONFERENCE”,
FRYDAY, 6 JUNE 2003

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  • Honorable Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Ramdin Sardjoe,

  • Honorable Vice President of the Republic of Suriname, Mr. Jules Ratankoemar Ajodhia,

  • Honorable Minister Shri Digvijay Singh and spouse, Members of Parliament and Ambassador Om Prakash from India,

  • Honorable Minister Ramdas from Mauritius,

  • Ladies and Gentlemen Ministers, Members of the National Assembly and other High State Organs,

  • Members of the Corps Diplomatique,

  • Representatives of international and regional organizations,

  • Honorary Consuls,

  • Distinguished guests from abroad,

  • President and members of the Suriname Hindi Organizing Committee,

  • Ladies and gentlemen,

Language is a fascinating, even wondrous phenomenon; an instrument that develops through years of interaction between people within groups.
Some of these instruments exist for only short periods.
Some languages, to our modest human standards, enjoy long, ostensibly eternal life, a manifestation of their power to persist, their universal flexibility allowing them to follow developments through time, their opulence keeping mankind fascinated and offering him a tapestry to display his dreams, his pain, the emotions of his soul.

In the garden of these powerful languages, Hindi originated from Sanskrit’s stem, first to serve people in India and at the same time lead them in their cultural experience and development, then to spread throughout the world and take root wherever Indians in their diaspora settled.

You have all gathered here on the left bank of the Suriname River, in the country where Mai and Baap first set foot on land one hundred and thirty years ago, to discuss the language of your heart.

I assure you that in Suriname it is not only the descendants of Mai and Baap who enjoy what Hindi offers. Through music and film, the role of Hindi is growing here.

For people who come from outside Suriname, this may seem inexplicable.
But in this country we have learned that there need be no obstacles to living together and participating in one another’s life, while we retain the ties that bind each person to his or her cultural origins.

It is with much interest that we look forward to the results of your conference. The conference theme of World Hindi: Challenges of the New Century holds the promise that much more will be discussed than the significance of Hindi in maintaining the cultural heritage of India, especially in the diaspora, and the significance of strengthening relations between India and Suriname and the other countries where Hindi is spoken.

The sessions to be spent discussing the relationship between Hindi and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) might provide an opening to areas where the dominant themes are science and development, aimed at the welfare and well-being of all.


Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Government of Suriname would like to express its gratitude to the Government of India for the attention given to the relationship with Suriname. This has been underlined once again in the choice of Paramaribo for the Seventh World Hindi Conference.

Finally, I would like to thank all Hindi lovers, scholars, poets, teachers, and organizers who traveled to Suriname for this event, for being here.

May you enjoy a fruitful conference together with the Surinamese participants.

With these words I declare the Seventh World Hindi Conference open.

Thank you.


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