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Bihar mentioned frequently during PM Modi's visit to Trinidad and Tobago
The PM is scheduled to spend two days in Argentina, marking the first bilateral visit by a serving Indian PM in 57 years. This visit is crucial for India's search for critical minerals and energy sources. He will reach Rio de Janeiro on Monday to attend the Brics Summit, followed by a visit to Brasilia for a bilateral meeting with Brazil's President Lula da Silva.
Addressing an Indian diaspora event in Port of Spain on Friday, Modi said, 'The ancestors of many people present here came from Bihar. The heritage of Bihar is the pride of not only India but the world as well." He also mentioned that the ancestors of his Trinidad & Tobago counterpart, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, hailed from Bihar. Modi added that PM Kamla had even visited the state, and people in India consider her the "daughter of Bihar."
PM Modi's X post about the cultural connection between the two countries was in English and Bhojpuri, which is widely spoken in Bihar and by the Indian community in the Caribbean nation. 'Very happy to have witnessed a Bhojpuri Chautaal performance in Port of Spain. The connection between Trinidad & Tobago and India, especially parts of eastern UP and Bihar, is noteworthy,' he said after watching a musical performance.
In his address at the diaspora event, the PM said, "Be it democracy, politics, diplomacy, higher education...Bihar had shown a new direction to the world in many such subjects centuries ago.' He added that new inspirations and opportunities "will emerge from the land of Bihar for the 21st-century world." Modi's was the first bilateral visit by an Indian PM to Trinidad and Tobago since 1999.
Modi announced that India is actively working on creating a comprehensive database of the Girmitiya community. "This will support the deep and historic ties with our brothers and sisters in Trinidad & Tobago as well,' he said. 'Our decision on issuing OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) cards to the sixth generation of the Indian diaspora in Trinidad & Tobago will strengthen their connection to India and preserve our shared heritage for future generations,' the PM posted on X.
The relationship between India and Trinidad & Tobago goes back to 30 May 1845, when the first ship, 'Fatel Razack', carrying 225 Indian indentured workers, reached the shores of Trinidad, then a British colony. Their numbers increased with the arrival of more ships from India until 1917. The descendants of these indentured workers, now in their fifth or sixth generation, form nearly 40–45 per cent of the total population of 1.36 million (2024), constituting an integral part of the economic, political, and social fabric of the country. This year, the diaspora is celebrating 180 years of the arrival of the first group of their ancestors.
The PM's visit to Argentina comes at a time when that country is undertaking major economic reforms somewhat similar to those India underwent in the past, said P. Kumaran, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, at a briefing in New Delhi on Monday.
Argentina holds the world's second-largest shale gas reserves and the fourth-largest shale oil reserves, along with substantial conventional oil and gas deposits. 'This makes Argentina a potentially important energy partner for India in the future,' Kumaran said. Argentina's rich reserves of critical minerals such as lithium, copper, and other rare earth elements complement India's growing need for secure and sustainable supplies for its clean energy transition and industrial growth, he added.
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