GUWAHATI, May 18 - The two-day International Students� Fellowship Day-2016 programme organised at the initiative of Governor PB Acharya concluded at Raj Bhavan today.
Students from foreign countries who are studying in NIT, Silchar; Dibrugarh University; IIT-Guwahati; Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat; Assam University, Silchar; and Tezpur University under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations� (ICCR) programmes were invited by the Governor to attend the meet.
Altogether 115 students from the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya, Syria, Uganda, Cameroon, Mongolia, Congo, Palestine, Burundi, Zambia, Rwanda, Sudan, Lesotho, Eritrea, Nigeria, Botswana, Fiji, Thailand, Yemen, Myanmar, Vietnam, Egypt and Maldives participated in the programme.
Student leaders from National Students� Union of India (NSUI), Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Chatra Mukti Sangram Samitee (CMSS) and universities were also present.
The programme on both the days began with the welcoming of the invitees and the briefing about the purpose of the event by the PRO to the Governor. This was followed by the felicitation of the students with a phulam gamosa, a Karbi bag and an appreciation letter from the Governor by the Governor and the First Lady.
Various foreign students spoke on the occasion and outlined their experiences in Assam, while also saying a few words about their own countries. Some of them also sang on the occasion. All of them said that they enjoyed their stay in Assam and liked the �warm and welcoming� people of the State.
The Governor, in his speech on the occasion, said that India was a diverse country and that its people respected diversity and diversity is not a division.
�Unity in diversity is the essence of India. �One person, one vote� is the basic principle of democracy. We are a democratic nation, everyone has one vote,� he said.
The Governor told the students that when they go back to their countries, they should go back as �our goodwill ambassadors�.
The Governor said that the students had come to India to get educational empowerment and that more and more empowerment makes a person more and more indebted to society. He advised them to give their empowerment to their people and uplift their society as a whole. �When you go back to your country, uplift your society and ensure that your country develops. You will be the persons for the downfall or the progress of your country. You have to empower your people, your land and your society� the Governor added.
The Governor insisted that the students should be provided with a fellowship family each so that they could come closer to the people by understanding their way of life, and said, �We should learn from one another. There should be more and more such meetings, interactions and exchange of ideas and views.�
On the first day, a Sattriya dance recital and on the second day, a Goalporiya dance and Bihu dance performances were presented. SP Kakati Bora, Regional Director of ICCR, Guwahati, was also present and addressed the gathering on both the days.
