Dimapur, July 21 : It is not every day that an international diplomatic banter would find a novel verbal injection about virturally unknown entities to illustrate a country’s cultural capital. But, to Nagaland’s credit, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi may have thrown in something colorful to explain India’s cultural diversity as something India can ‘export.’
During his July 11 speech before the Kenyan Diaspora, Modi commended the people of Indian origin in the African country for preserving their culture and traditions despite being away from their land of origin for generations. "There must be people of third generation or fourth generation here," Modi said in his speech at the Kasarani Stadium after arriving from Tanzania on the fourth and final leg of his four-nation African tour.
"They must have only heard about Ganga, Assam, Nagaland or Mizoram. Despite this, it is commendable that they have been able to preserve their culture,” he said to rapturous cheers from a crowd of over 20,000 people. There are around 80,000 people of India origin in Kenya, most of whose ancestors were brought as labour for the railways the then British rulers were building or came as traders.
