The Guildhall at the City of London was decorated beautifully to welcome guests celebrating India’s Republic Day on Thursday 26 January 2023. With an exhibition to go with the theme, people walked on the red carpet to enter the grand venue, where Ministers representing various departments of the High Commission of India, waited to greet and meet the guests. Delicious canapes prepared by Ragasaan were making rounds, as the invited guests mingled with each other. Non-alcoholic drinks, reflecting the tricolour, were also making rounds.
The Brigade of Gurkhas band kick started the formal evening, by playing the national anthem of India, followed by that of the UK.
HE Vikram Doraiswami who was accompanied by his wife, addressing the guests reflected upon the spirit behind the Constitution of India, and what it truly means for the country. He said, “The definition of a Constitution doesn’t quite cover the sentiment and the meaning of the Constitution of India as it is for 1.4 billion people.
“As it currently stands, our Constitution obviously sets out the promises that we Indians made to ourselves, on our own as a free nation, to ensure fundamental rights, to ensure justice, liberty, equality and fraternity to all of our people. But it was also much more than that; it was the context of the adoption of the Constitution of India and the spirit it instilled in Indians for generations that makes it most remarkable.”
He further went on to say, “As India rises, it does so through its global partnerships, especially with friends such as the UK. With the British people, we share history, values, culture, trade and investment flows, a living bridge of people of Indian origin who have contributed so much to British industry, healthcare, sport, politics and cuisine.”
A special mention was made to the ongoing UK-India FTA, the 2030 Roadmap and living bridge.
Lord Tariq Ahmad, Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, who represented the UK government made a special reference to UK's 1.7mn Indians and spoke about his own roots in Punjab.
Lord Ahmad said, “We welcome our close alignment with India, our close bilateral working with India and wish India well as it hosts the G20 meetings.
“I do believe that through India’s leadership at the G20 we will continue to strengthen our resolve through the UN Sustainable Development Goals for the benefit not just for our two nations, but for the whole world. When India and the United Kingdom stand together, we are not just stronger between us, we are stronger for the globe.”
There was a medley of dances by Bollywood Dance School of UK including to the tune of music composer A R Rahman’s ‘Jai Ho’ and ‘Vande Mataram’. The evening ended with a lavish dinner for all those present.
Key guests present included Lord Swraj Paul, Lord Rami Ranger, Lord Ranbir Suri, Lord Karan Bilimoria, Virendra Sharma MP, Navendu Mishra MP, Lord Mayor Nicholas Lyons, to name a few.
Earlier in the day, India House at Aldwych also played host to the annual flag hoisting ceremony, with a huge tricolour displayed on the main building. Many Indian organisations also celebrated the occasion and contributions of the diaspora to the ongoing relationship between the two countries.
UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who visited India in November, took to Twitter to send his best wishes to his Indian counterpart, the diaspora and people of India. He wrote, “Happy Republic Day to my friend Dr Jaishankar and the people of India. We look forward to another year of friendship and cooperation!”
