Sri Lanka_ The Assistant High Commission of India in Kandy celebrated their centenary year of establishment in the hill capital of Sri Lanka, by unveiling a logo commemorating this milestone on the 26th of May 2023. H.E Gopal Baglay, High Commissioner of India, inaugurated the ceremony virtually while MP M. Velu Kumar graced the event as the special guest. Members of the Indian diaspora in Kandy, friends, well-wishers, and several representatives of social and cultural organizations were among the gathering to witness the launch of the 100th Anniversary logo.
The logo, chosen through a competition hosted by MyGov, saw 470 participants send in various designs and artworks. The winning logo was created by Mr. Rayees Ahmad Bhat, blending the colors of the national flags of India and Sri Lanka with the respective emblems fitted into the number 100, to mark a century of bilateral relations.
High Commissioner of India Mr. Baglay speaking at the event, recognized the continuous support rendered by the Sri Lankan authorities to the Assistant High Commission of India (AHCI) in maintaining a long-standing relationship of diplomacy. The High Commissioner of India expressed the significance of the year 2023 as it will mark 100 years of the founding of the AHCI in Kandy as well as 75 years of diplomatic ties between India and Sri Lanka. Acknowledging the efforts taken by the neighboring nations to ensure a smooth foreign policy, Mr. Baglay pledged India’s dedication to working towards the mutual prosperity of the two nations and their people.
The current Assistant High Commission of India in Kandy first came to be in 1923, as the “Agent of the Government of India” to ensure the well-being of the Indian Origin migrant laborers who arrived on the island to work in tea plantations in the Colonial era. Post-independence, the office was headed by the late Shri V.V Giri first as a Visa Officer and subsequently the first High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka upon which he later became the fourth President of India in 1969. The office was renamed in September 1965 as the Assistant High Commissioner of India, Kandy.
