Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya arrived in New Delhi today for a three-day visit. It is her first trip to India since taking office in her home country in September this year.
Amarasuriya will meet Indian political leaders to discuss bilateral issues of mutual interest, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. Her visit to India comes more than six months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to the island nation.
“This will be my first official visit to India as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. India and Sri Lanka, as you know, are closely linked by history, culture and shared values. Our relationship is very deep and important and I look forward to using this opportunity to strengthen our cooperation in all areas such as trade, investment, education, development and more,” Amarasuriya said ahead of his visit to India.
Connection with India
The Sri Lankan Prime Minister has Indian connections. She is a graduate of Hindu College, University of Delhi and will also visit her alma mater. Amarasuriya did a BA in Sociology at Delhi University from 1991 to 1994.
In September, when Amarasuriya became Sri Lanka’s prime minister, Hindu dandu director anju srivastava expressed his pride in the distinguished graduate of the college.
“This is a huge honor and a momentous occasion for us. It is like a homecoming for Amarasuriya… She studied sociology from 1991-1994,” Srivastava told reporters ahead of the Sri Lankan prime minister’s visit to the college.
Our relationship is very deep and important, and I look forward to using this opportunity to strengthen our cooperation in all areas.
Srivastava said Harini was a sociology student from 1991 to 1994 and “we are extremely proud of her achievements”. She expressed hope that Amarasuriya’s “time in Hinduism played a role in shaping her path to success”.
Amarasuriya also holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh.
The Hindu School organized a series of events to welcome Harinni Amarasuriya on Thursday.
“There is a social and ethnographic lab of the Department of Sociology which started functioning recently. We wanted to name the lab after her as a tribute to her visit and her alumnus. She will unveil a new board during her visit,” Srivastava said.
During his visit, Amarasuriya will unveil the new ethnographic laboratory of the Department of Sociology at the College. She also takes a tour of “Classroom 27, where she attended courses.
“Classroom number 27 has been part of the Department of Sociology for decades. We hope to take her to the room and corridors where she spent most of her time as a student,” Srivastava told Hindustan Times.
The college will welcome the guests with a ceremonial guard of honor of 16 NCC cadets and a symbolic tree plantation on the lawn in front of the college.
Hindu College and Politicians
Hindu College is one of the most prestigious colleges in the University of Delhi. Located on Sudhir Bose Marg in Delhi University’s North Campus, the college has a long list of former students who later entered politics.
Former Hindu college students who became BJP leaders include Meenakshi Lekhi and Nupur Sharma, though not all were active on campus in the 1990s. Other prominent alumni like Hardeep Singh Puri and Subramanian Swamy also joined the BJP later but were not student politicians in the 1990s.
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