High-Profile Visits: The Nation Prepares, And How!

That a high profile guest will arrive to taste the hospitality and understand the heritage of India is indeed a matter of pride. When an international guest, especially that of high ranking official and above, arrives in another country; the visit will usually be more than a courtesy call.

Now, one can imagine what goes into a high profile visit when India hosts someone of the rank of a respective country’s President, Prime Minister, Premier or Army General etc. Rounds of security checks being done, menu being decided and meetings are being set up apart from a highly-packed itinerary drawn up in consultation with the officials of the guest of visiting country make for the regular must-dos. The more powerful the guest is, the higher detailing of the security arrangements take place on the land that's hosting him/her.

India is already on a high with the impending visit of American President Barack Obama, who would be state guest on the occasion of Indian Republic Day parade. The event is mainly an occasion to commemorate the day when India turned into a republic, but India uses the day to show the prowess of military forces and technological advancements happening across the country—this apart from showing a slice of heritage from each state that is being administered by the Indian republic since 1950.

While Obama was invited to attend this special event by Prime Minister Modi when he went USA as a state guest, there have been times when high-profile visitors have donned this event earlier on a grand scale.

India has been the favourite destination of many dignitaries owing to the multi-cultural and multi-dimensional nature of its population.
Last year’s Republic Day guest was the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. India has generally concentrated on its immediate neighbours to be invited as Guests of Republic Day Parade.

The first ever guest of Indian republic was President of Indonesia, Sukarno who came as the state guest in 1950. This was followed by King of Bhutan Jigme Dorji Wangchuk who came to view the Republic Day events. Then in 1955, India perhaps felt the need to have a big name from the immediate neighbourhood. The Governor General of Pakistan, Malik Ghulam Mohammad came visiting India in 1955. In 1961, India had a very special guest – Queen Elizabeth II of United Kingdom who was the guest on India’s very special day.

High ranking politicians have come from various countries (mostly third world) from around India such as Yugoslavia, Cambodia, Srilanka, Zambia, Tanzania, Mauritius, Soviet Union (then) Singapore, Maldives, Zaire, Ireland, France and Iran. During the UPA regime, the state guests came from countries such as Bhutan (twice over), Saudi Arabia, Kazakstan, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan. Two of the most talked about visits included the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy, and President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

Among some of the most discussed visits, not necessarily linked to the Republic Day parade, have been that of Ariel Sharon, the then Prime Minister of Israel who was the first one to visit India. He shared great bonhomie with India and his visit helped India and Israel reach many agreements on defence, information technology, and agriculture. The President of France, Jaques Chirac’s visit in 2006 helped India and France ink nuclear cooperation and defence cooperation agreements which went a long way in holding the relationship between these countries steadfast. The bond still continues to be cherished.

Despite being a guest several times over, officials and dignitaries from Pakistan have somewhat remained a tough challenges for India to connect with its neighbour on the initiatives of peace, trade and cooperation. One of the most embarrassing moments India faced after the departure of a state guest was in 1958 when the Chinese Marshal Ye Jianying visited India on the invitation of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Soon after, both countries entered into a war that continued to haunt both countries for years to come.

India has been on the forefront of economies today having won over some of the most complicated challenges. Hence, the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard spoke of solidarity with India just about three years ago, followed by Canadian PM Stephen Harper visiting the country, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev setting foot on Indian soil. French President Sarkozy, Chinese Premier Wen Ziabo, and now, American President Barack Obama seem to have truly made this a star-studded event.

Image: indiatimes