I Would like to congratulate the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan and the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan for organizing this international forum entitled “Muhammet Bayram Khan – The Turkmen and Traditions of Humanism, Patriotism and Courage of the Turkmen People”. I extend to all the participants our greetings from Delhi and India, where Mohammad Bairam Khan lived for long years and made his great achievements.
I am grateful to the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to India for associating us with this conference.
Mohammad Bairam Khan’s historic role is well known. He stands out in the history of India for three great qualities: (a) As a Statesman and a General; (b) As a Diplomat, and (c) As a man of letters. In addition, he had very admirable personal attributes of loyalty and courage. It is for all these reasons that we celebrate his life and legacy today.
Mohammad Bairam Khan Turkmen is also well known in India because of the great achievements of his son Abdur Rahim. Both, father and son had been honoured with the title of Khan-e-Khanan. Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khana has left behind him a rich legacy in India and he is remembered as a peoples’ poet and as a patron of intellectuals and writers. His poetry in Hindi and Sanskrit is a living embodiment of the importance of dialogue between cultures and between religions. Both, father and son, therefore, are reminders of the importance of rising above sectarian concerns and achieving the fundamental objectives of humanism of open mindedness.
Bairam Khan and Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khanan animate the historic relations between India and Turkmenistan and both of these important historic personalities remind us of the common cultural and civilizational geography that we come from.
I am happy to share with you that the tomb of Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana in New Delhi has recently been fully restored and it is now one of the great attractions of the living heritage of India. The backdrop that I share now is of this magnificent structure. I hope visitors from Turkmenistan will visit this important historic monument and see it as a living example of the civilizational connect between peoples of India and Turkmenistan.
I wish this conference all success and fruitful discussions.
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