7 months ago
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The acceptance of diverseness and the value of asking “difficult questions” are enduring memories of India for Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, who began her archetypal authoritative sojourn to India connected Thursday (October 16, 2025) with a locomotion down representation lane to her alma mater, Delhi University’s Hindu College.
She besides met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar — who said helium had “discussed India’s continued enactment to Sri Lanka and strengthening [India-Sri Lanka] practice successful acquisition & capableness building” — addressed concern leaders, and attended a diplomatic reception. On Friday, the Sri Lankan PM volition clasp talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and is expected to sermon deepening economical practice and connectivity betwixt the 2 countries.
Ms. Amarasuriya came to India arsenic a pupil successful 1991, astatine a clip erstwhile universities successful Sri Lanka were closed owed to unit and strikes. She studied Sociology astatine Hindu College connected an Indian authorities scholarship. Recalling the archetypal clip she entered Delhi with “a substance of dreams, uncertainties, hopes, questions and besides nervousness”, she said the metropolis had accepted her and made her consciousness astatine home.
This acceptance of diversity, she said, is what makes Delhi unsocial to her. Three decades later, arsenic she entered the aforesaid assemblage gates, she was “filled with nostalgia and besides admiration”.
Critical thinking
She thanked her teachers, saying, “They didn’t conscionable thatch maine theories, but they encouraged maine to deliberation critically, to question and to ne'er judge injustice arsenic inevitable.” College conversations astir inequality, feminism, and quality improvement felt some urgent and necessary, she recalled.
After graduating from Hindu College, Ms. Amarasuriya pursued her Masters successful Australia and completed a PhD successful Social Anthropology focusing connected kid extortion and the analyzable narration betwixt authorities and society.
“Reflecting present connected my world journey, whether it was teaching Sociology, oregon conducting probe connected dissent, societal justice, discrimination, oregon quality rights, I deliberation that the world bearings that were instilled successful maine successful Hindu College, were ne'er acold from me,” she said. “Each of these experiences reinforced a information that possibly formed successful my caput successful Hindu College; that cognition without enactment is incomplete and that acquisition obligates america to service those that person been near behind.” She urged students to “never underestimate the powerfulness of asking hard questions”.
Structural partnership
The India-Sri Lanka concern is “not episodical” but “structural”, Ms. Amarasuriya said, adding, “It is not a impermanent convenience of today, it is simply a necessity of tomorrow.”
She said that portion India has been an “unwavering partner” successful Sri Lanka’s journey, supporting its economical recovery, providing captious assistance successful times of situation and lasting with Sri Lanka successful the pursuit of stableness and growth, Sri Lanka has besides “consistently upheld her solemn pledge to ne'er licence her ungraded to beryllium utilized successful a mode that threatens the information of India”.
Pleased to conscionable PM @Dr_HariniA of Sri Lanka this greeting successful Delhi.
Discussed India's continued enactment to Sri Lanka and strengthening our practice successful acquisition & capableness building.
“The spot of the Sri Lanka-India concern lies successful our corporate action, shared committedness towards addressing challenges that transcend borders, whether they impact biology concerns, economical development, counter-terrorism efforts, maritime issues, oregon ensuring the enactment that benefits radical of some our countries,” the Sri Lankan PM said. “It would beryllium a pleasance to spot expanding pupil exchanges betwixt Indian and Sri Lankan students, researchers, moving to probe unneurotic successful institutions, startups, art, civilization and different fields,” she added.
In her invited speech, Hindu College main Anju Srivastava said, “True learning builds bridges of knowing betwixt communities, betwixt nations, and crossed the shared waters that link america each successful South Asia.”
The Sri Lankan PM took a circuit of the college, interacted with students, planted 2 trees, and visited schoolroom fig 27, wherever she had studied. She visited the Perfumery Lab accomplishment grooming facility, and the Social and Ethnographic Research Laboratory which the assemblage has decided to sanction successful her honour.
