It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be amidst you for the Annual General Meeting of what aught to be described to be as the oldest friendship society in Sri Lanka and that is what it aught to be given our relationship that stretches back … I will talk about that later.

I would like to take this opportunity to felicitate/affelicitate the new Officer Bearers of the Sri Lanka India Society and all the members for the active work they have taken in working of this Society and I understand that all your regular functions particularly during the India's Republic Day, India's Independence Day and of course the Mahatma Ghandi Oration as well as the Mahatma Ghandi Essay Writing Competition. Apart from that I believe you invite eminent personalities from both Sri Lanka and India to speak to you on subjects of importance and it is very important that this type of interaction which will enhance our knowledge and of course a deeper understanding between our two people and our two countries. I am also happy to note that the Srimathi Indira Ghandi Library Collection provides books to 27 schools all over the country and that you also finance scholarships for married IDP women in the University of Jaffna. It is commendable that you enhance the links between the two people of the two countries and you serve as a link between the government and the people of the two countries. I am very happy to note that your membership has swelled to around 700 and that you have very eminent members pillars of society who are Members of the Sri Lanka India Society. I look forward in participating in functions organized by you and I look forward to supporting you and that the High Commission my colleagues in the High Commission particularly Shri Sunil Achaya and others supporting your activities to the extent possible and to the best of our ability. But I thought I would use this occasion.

because this is what my colleagues had given me and I managed to memorise a bit of it before I was on my way here when the proceedings of the Annual General Meeting were on. But I thought to myself "What do I say" and "What do I tell you" because I think that the collective wisdom you have far exceeds whatever little I know about Sri Lanka and about India Sri Lanka Relations. But nevertheless I will do make an attempt and please do excuse me if I get my facts wrong and do feel free to correct me after I finish so that in future I will be more mindful but I like to speak ex-tempo I like to speak from the heart and I feel that it is extremely important that two countries as close as India and Sri Lanka we should be able to very open very frank and speak from the heart and so that is what I propose to do. I do not know how much time I have Mr. President, but I will try to make it brief.

I do not think that no two countries in this world that have had so close relations over the ages and in no countries I have served in, this is my 8th country. I have been here for about six weeks and I feel that I am at home because when I came here within a few days I had to get involved in various official functions even before I had presented my credentials and certainly after that I have had to hit the ground running. I do not think I would have done it any other place but in Sri Lanka because I felt that I was at home, I felt that this is my second home and I feel that the people here sort of welcome are warm which I have received are truly overwhelming. Both my wife and I feel very blessed to have been entrusted with the responsibilities to represent our country here and I think all of you are ambassadors of Indo Sri Lanka Friendship and Enmity and I have been telling people because I have had this visitor from India recently in fact she is still here today. She was a been bit alarmed in reading some of the headlines in the Editorials and OPECs and I told her this is far from the course and I told her you should not bother too much, but it of course a matter of concern but this is not the views of the majority of the people of Sri Lanka because the people of Sri Lanka hold the people of India in great affection and greater esteemed and visa versa. And that's it should be because our relations stretch back from time immemorial and it not with one community it's not with two communities but I think it is with all the communities residing in Sri Lanka and I want to

brief with the remarks as this is very important, we have great links with the Sinhala Community, the Tamil Community the Muslim Community and others who live here and we have had these links since time immemorial and I think it is our job as the emissaries of better relations between the two countries to promote this very special this very symbiotic links that bind us whether it is in the field of culture, whether it is in the field of spiritualism or whether.. area like promoting commercial and economic interactions and linkages between our two countries. Geographically we are linked, emotionally we are linked and I think it is important that we remain linked in the future because our futures are entwined our futures share a common destiny and I think it is important that all of us remember that. In fact I was struck within a few days of my arrival I think you celebrated Poson Poya, the arrival of Maharat Mahinda, now we know him as Prince Mahinda, he comes from my home town. Despite what some of the Sri Lankan papers wrote that he comes from Vedisha, his mother may have come from Vedisha but he was born in Patli Putra, the capital of Emperor Ashok. And Emperor Ashoka ruled at a great empire which was set up by his grandfather Chandru …….. and the whole of India and as of present date Pakistan, Afghanistan and part of Iran, Baluchistan came under the reign of Emperor Ashoka and I am not going to tell of the history of Emperor Ashoka as all of you know it, I am sure you read it from Primary School onwards but except to say that I feel I represent the proud legacy of Emperor Ashoka of the Lord Buddha who attained Nirvana in my State and my father was born in Gaya. So I have special links with the people of Sri Lanka. I got studied in Tamil Nadu inWellington. I have special links with the people of Tamil Nadu, the Tamils here and of course I have worked in the Arab World and of course in India, I speak Arabic, I used to but it is bit rusty now, but I remember one incident. When I returned from Cairo, my first holiday my grandfather took me to meet his brother, he was a Muslim in the police and he had retired and my grandfather would like to show off my Arabic skills. So he asked him to produce the Holy Quran, which he did and he asked me to read a Suda- verse. I read that and he called me as he was taken aback and asked me as to how come "You could read that, so you are learning Arabic and you can read the Suda. Can you explain what it means". And then I did that, he was a bit dumb-struck, he said "I can't believe it that you can do that". I do not think I can do that now that was in 1984, I was able to do that. So I have had links with all of you, all communities and I am very proud of that. That is what India is.

India is a melting pot. India is unity, diversity and why we feel that with a country like Sri Lanka it is so much diversity also, there is a blessing in that for both of us, both our countries, both our people, nothing is important that we remember that because we are inheritors of a great civilization, a great legacy that we should not forget. I am very happy that in Sri Lanka that are large number of Indians and in India are large number of Sri Lankans, working studying and there are various crop fertilization of ideas that take place regularly and I know that the Society like yours play an extremely… role in furthering an exchange of ideas because I think without the exchange of ideas without the exchange of views, I don't think our societies, our civilizations can progress. So I think that it is extremely important that we continue these links and I am happy that the Sri Lanka India Society has taken the lead in this regard. I will take the liberty as Speaker suggest a few things to you as time comes by as I learn more about your country, your people when I think that some of this include academic exchanges

I referred to Emperor Ashoka, Buddhism in Sri Lanka. I feel a lot of people have forgotten that in Sri Lanka and in India, they have forgotten these links the arrival of Minaret Melinda, but it does not say where he came from and what message he brought and he brought the message of Buddhism and his sister Princess Songsmith brought the sapling of the Holy Bo-leaf from Buddhagaya and that is now flourishing in Sri Lanka. Its' a matter of great pride for all of us when we learn from history and more importantly when we know history and I think that is one thing I would like to recommend.

I have in fact contacted a few professors particular a person, who I know very well because I am student of history myself and this lady was a year junior to me and she has specialized in Ancient History and Archeology and she is in the process of writing a book on Emperor Ashoka for the Arbor University. And I have taken the liberty of inviting her any time to come to Sri Lanka and to speak about Emperor Ashoka, about his

son about his daughter about the message of Lord Buddha and .. Buddhism to Sri Lanka and I hope I will be able to get her to Sri Lanka not only to Colombo, which is the largest city and the people would appreciate her interaction, but I would like to take her to more traditional places like Kandy, Anurdhapura and places like that so that she will be able to interact and get some of the scholars also and I would request the support of the Sri Lanka India Society and or course I would be requesting the Sri Lanka India Foundation other bodies in organizing a program and interaction with all of you in Sri Lanka. I am sure it will be fruitful not just academic but I am sure it will be more enlightening and at least for me it will be going back to history, I would say, down memory lane, it will certainly help me to understand the connection between our two great countries which as existed as I said from time immemorial

I do not want to make a very long speech, I would like to take opportunity to thank you very much for inviting me to address at the Annual General Meeting and of course welcoming me as Patron to one of the oldest friendship societies in India, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you in particular the Office Bearers, members of the Executive Committee all the Very Best for your future endeavours and assure you that we in the High Commission standby you and support you to the best of our ability. Thank you.