According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, will be the Chief Guest at the 17thPravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention. Dr. Ali became Guyana’s ninth Executive President on August 2, 2020.
Dr. Ali’s profile at the official website of Guyana’s President mentions that he is the “holder of a Doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the West Indies, a Master of Arts Degree in Manpower Planning, a Post Graduate Diploma in International Business, a Post- Graduate Certificate in Finance from Anglia Ruskin University, an LLM Degree in International Commercial Law at the University of Salford and a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Hons.) in Business Management from the University of Sunderland”.
Additionally, Ms. Zaneta Mascarenhas, a Member of the Federal Parliament of Australia, will be the Guest of Honour at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, going to be held on 8 January 2022. She was born in Western Australia.
At the age of 18, she migrated to Perth for studying Science and Engineering at Curtin University. Her parents and grandparents were born in Goa. Her family migrated from Kenya to Australia in 1975. She is the first woman to win from Swan Division, Western Australia in its 101-year election history.
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is conducted by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India to celebrate the achievements of the overseas Indian community and acknowledge the contribution made by them toward their homeland. It commemorates the return of the greatest Pravasi Mahatma Gandhi, who returned from South Africa to India in the year 1915. Since 2003, Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention is being organised. Since 2015, PBD Convention is being held once in two years. Indian diaspora community get the opportunity to put their perspective and engage with the concerned stakeholders during PBD. It may be considered a crucial part of India’s diaspora engagement policy.
17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is scheduled to be held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, from 8-10 January 2023. It is a flagship event conducted every two years by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, to create a stronger linkage with the overseas Indian diasporic community. The theme for the 17th PBD is “Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India’s Progress in Amrit Kaal”. There will be five plenary sessions spanning over three days.
On the 8th of January, Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be conducted whereas the 9th of January will witness the inauguration of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and the 10th of January will have the valedictory session. It is also worth mentioning that Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards (PBSA) will be conferred by the Hon’ble President of India to 30 overseas Indians or established institutions/organisations for their distinguished service towards the welfare of the Indian community or for promoting better understanding abroad of India, among other fields.
Abhishek Yadav is a PhD Candidate at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.