Speech by the Ambassador of India
Hindi Week Closing Ceremony / December 3, 2025
Honorable Rector Jilo Gulnazarzoda,
Distinguished professors, dear students,
It is a genuine privilege to be with you today as we bring
this year’s Hindi Week celebration to a joyful and meaningful close at your
esteemed university.
The Tajik National University holds a distinctive and
cherished place in Tajikistan’s linguistic and cultural landscape. The presence
of a dedicated Hindi Department within the Faculty of Asian Languages stands as
eloquent testimony to the openness to the world’s diverse cultures and the
commitment to strengthening academic and people-to-people ties between India
and Tajikistan. For this, the Tajik National University and all of you here
deserve our deepest admiration and heartfelt gratitude.
Hindi is today one of the world’s most widely spoken
languages and a vibrant branch of the Indo-Aryan family of languages. Written
in the elegant Devanagari script and enriched over centuries by Sanskrit, it
carries within its profound layers of history, literature, and philosophy.
For Tajik students, Hindi often feels surprisingly
familiar. Countless words echo in sound and meaning across our languages—a
living reminder of the deep civilizational bonds that have long united our
peoples. The friendship between India and Tajikistan rests on this shared
heritage, mutual respect, and enduring warmth.
As a nation on the rise, India fully understands the
challenges Tajikistan faces on its own path of development. We remain steadfast
in supporting the strengthening of Tajikistan’s human capital and
infrastructure. Our scholarship programmes—ITEC and ICCR—stand as vivid proof
of this partnership. Hundreds of Tajik students, including proud graduates of
this very university, have pursued bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees
in India and are now making invaluable contributions to building of a modern and
developed Tajikistan.
Tajik students also regularly attend Hindi-language
courses at the Central Institute of Hindi in Agra. Since 2019, an academic
chair for Indian Studies, Hindi, and Urdu has been established at Tajik
National University, and its faculty have generously extended their expertise
to the university as well, helping train the next generation of specialists.
To nurture deeper cultural understanding, the Swami
Vivekananda Cultural Centre in Dushanbe continues to offer courses in Hindi,
classical dance, traditional music, Indian musical instruments, and yoga. I am
happy to note that Indian study centres have opened in Dushanbe, Penjikent,
Konibodom, and Khorog, bringing knowledge of India closer to students and
citizens alike. And, of course, the unwavering love for Indian cinema in
Tajikistan—even in today’s competitive global era—remains a source of immense
pride and joy for us.
As I bring my remarks to a close, allow me to express my
sincere gratitude to the organizers, teachers, and students for the warmth,
creativity and dedication that made today’s celebration so memorable. I
sincerely hope, and firmly believe, that our academic partnership with the
Tajik National University will continue to flourish, reaching new heights
across faculties and disciplines. To every student here, I wish you all
boundless success in your studies, new achievements, and a lifelong love for
the Hindi language and Indian culture.
May the bonds of friendship between friendly people of
India and Tajikistan grow ever stronger
Long live India-Tajikistan friendship!
Jai Hind!
Jai Tajikistan!
***
