India, TT relationship ‘cannot out at all’

He assured that TT remains committed to further strengthening the relationship. He also welcomed India’s High Commissioner Bishwadip Dey and his family to TT at the event to mark the occasion on Thursday evening.

Gavaskar, ranked among the greatest opening batsman in cricket history, Dillon said, incidentally had his test cricket debut at the Queen’s Park Oval in 1971, and hit the winning runs in the first ever match that India beat the West Indies, which was also at the Oval.

He quoted local calypsonian, Relator, immortalising India’s winning performance in the words, “Gavaskar, the real master, just like a wall, we couldn’t out Gavaskar at all, not at all, the West Indies couldn’t out Gavaskar at all.” Noting that, “We cannot out this partnership at all,” he said that TT has an enduring relationship that dates back to shared colonial heritage, and the arrival of Indian indentured labourers to these shores in 1845. Over the years, he said, “the Indo Trinbagonian community has grown and prospered, maintaining their cultural heritage and transforming the socio-economic fabric of our twin island nation with their food, music, dance and religions.” One cannot imagine the country without chutney music, the month-long Divali celebration at the Divali Nagar, or a breakfast without doubles and aloe pies, he said.

The birth of the Republic of India on January 26, 1950, Dillon noted also marked the enactment of India’s constitution, and with it the creation of one of the world’s largest constitutional democracies.

Since taking responsibility for its own development, he said, “India has grown tremendously and, today is a rising power and a fast emerging global leader in innovation, technology, pharmaceuticals, alternative energy, to name just a few.” Having established diplomatic relations with India in 1962, Dillon said the relationship continues to grow and thrive through continued people-to-people contact, technical cooperation, investment and joint ventures in the business sector.