Kochi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will formally inaugurate the 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas here on January 8 and release a stamp on the Gadar movement reflecting the saga of courage of overseas Indians who became trail blazers of the freedom struggle.
Announcing this here on January 5, Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Vayalar Ravi, told reporters "this would be a fine way for honouring and remembering those who participated in the Gadar movement." The Prime Minister will also be releasing two publications of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, he said.
The Gadar movement is the saga of courage, valour and determination of overseas Indians who had come to Canada and US either for higher education or for economic opportunities. They became trail blazers of the freedom struggle.
Besides Singh, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Mauritius President Rajkeswur Purryag will be among those addressing the inaugural session. The PBD oration, to be held on Jan8 will also be dedicated to the 'Gadar movement'.
It will be moderated by former Union Minister MP Veerendra Kumar, and addressed by Prof Harish Puri, retired Prof of Political Science and Head of BR Ambedkar Chair Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. President Pranab Mukherjee, will address the valedictory function on January 9 wherein he would be presenting Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards.
Over 2000 delegates are expected to participate in the three-day event. The PBD will commence on January 7 with a session on NRIs in the Gulf. This is the first time an entire session has been dedicated for the NRIs in the Gulf, the minister said.
The theme of the session, to be inaugurated by Ravi, is to boost economic and social engagement with the diaspora in the Gulf. An 'India Migration Report 2013' would be released. Ravi said illegal migration of Indians to the Gulf has come down and attributed it mainly to various advertisement campaigns run by the ministry. "The advertisements have been very effective and helped in creating awareness." On the UAE amnesty, he said 1,100 Indians had applied for passports through the embassy till December 29.
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