Santiago/New Delhi: Delhi Legislative Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta has invited members of the Indian community in Chile to visit the Delhi Vidhan Sabha with their children, encouraging younger generations to understand India’s democratic heritage while maintaining their cultural connections with both countries.
Addressing the community at the Embassy of India in Santiago, Gupta said overseas Indians play an important role in shaping perceptions of India through their everyday interactions, professional work and relationships in their adopted country.
His invitation to the Assembly was directed particularly at families, with an emphasis on helping children recognise their connection to India’s democratic institutions.
“When you next visit India, come to the Delhi Vidhan Sabha,” Gupta said. “Bring your children, so they may see how the world’s largest democracy conducts its business, and so they may know that this heritage is theirs too.”
Delhi’s Legislative Heritage and Its Identity as a City of Migrants
Bringing greetings from the people of Delhi and the Legislative Assembly, Gupta described the capital as a welcoming city shaped by people who had arrived from different places.
Delhi was not only the national capital but also a city of migrants, he said, drawing a connection between its identity and the experiences of Indians living overseas.
Gupta also spoke about the historical significance of the Assembly building. He described the institution as one of India’s oldest legislative bodies and said its building had hosted the Central Legislative Assembly of British India more than a century ago.
Reflecting on his responsibilities as Speaker, he said the chair he occupied belonged not to an individual but to the longer journey of Indian democracy.
Community Members Shape How Chile Sees India
Gupta said geographical distance had not prevented India and Chile from developing connections across several fields.
He identified trade, minerals, energy, agriculture, Ayurveda, yoga, education and technology as areas of partnership and said the two governments were working to deepen their relationship.
However, he argued that relations between countries depended on more than formal agreements.
“Agreements are signed in offices; friendships are built by people. You are that friendship,” he told the gathering.
Gupta described members of the Indian community as ambassadors through their conduct rather than through formal appointment.
A Chilean meeting an Indian doctor, engineer, trader, teacher or student formed an impression of India through that interaction, he said. He credited the community’s work, honesty and warmth with building respect for India in Chile.
The picture of India created through such personal relationships could not be replicated by a brochure, Gupta said, thanking community members for their contribution.
Contributions Go Beyond Remittances
Gupta said Indians living abroad remained connected to developments at home and should regard themselves as participants in the country’s progress.
He referred to changes over the past decade in infrastructure, digital payments, space, manufacturing and India’s international presence, saying that transformation belonged to the diaspora as much as to people living in India.
Recalling the Prime Minister’s emphasis on the diaspora’s importance, Gupta said overseas Indians contributed not only remittances but also ideas, investment and networks.
He said many community members brought knowledge and connections from Chile to India while also introducing India to Chile, making their role in the relationship a two-way exchange.
Young People Need Not Choose Between Two Identities
Addressing those born or raised in Chile, Gupta urged them to learn the language of their grandparents and develop an understanding of India’s history, festivals and philosophy.
He said preserving these connections did not require young people to choose between their Indian roots and their lives in Chile.
“Not because you must choose between two identities, but because you are fortunate enough to hold both,” he said.
Gupta described familiarity with two civilisations as a source of enrichment and encouraged younger community members to value both aspects of their identity.
Closing his address, he invoked “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” — the world is one family — and said Indians living, working and raising families alongside Chileans gave practical expression to that idea.
He said the community had helped make Chile part of India’s wider family and India part of Chile’s, expressing hope that bilateral friendship would continue to grow and that community members would prosper.
