Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023

It was both an honour and delight for fifteen of our students, accompanied by two teachers, to attend the 17th PBD Convention held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The theme of the event was, "Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India's Progress in Amrit Kaal".

The first day, dedicated to the youth and known as Youth PBD, was jointly inaugurated by the External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar, the Indian Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mr. Anurag Singh Thakur and the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Team OOB was among thousands of delegates in the main hall of the Brilliant Convention Centre, where we witnessed and heard the dignitaries, welcome representatives globally. The speeches were not only inspiring but also a massive learning experience for our students, in more ways than one.

Apart from attending the various plenary sessions in the afternoon and participating in a tree plantation drive, hosted by the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, we attended a mesmerizing cultural programme in the evening, and enjoyed the gold class hospitality and cuisine of the multi-culturally diverse state of Madhya Pradesh.

On day two of the convention, it was a privilege to be party to the keynote address given by the Prime Minster of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, in the presence of Dr. S. Jaishankar, Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Special Guest of Honour, H.E. Mr. Chandrikapersad Santokhi, President of the Republic of Suriname and Chief Guest of PBD, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

A commemorative postal stamp, ‘Surakshit Jaayen, Prashikshit Jaayen’ was released by the dignitaries. 

In the evening the Indian Council for Cultural Relations presented an amazing cultural programme which was greatly appreciated, followed by a feast of a dinner.

Our boys and teachers were also privileged to be featured in India's largest Hindi-language daily newspaper ‘Dainak Bhaskar’. Team OOB was specially invited by their Senior Correspondent Ms. Arti Mandloi and Editor Mr. Amit Mandloi to visit their office in Indore and interact with their journalists and get a first-hand experience of how the following day’s newspaper is prepared – up, close and personal! It was the most amazing experience for our team!

Apart from attending this prestigious convention, we also made time to visit the Indore Zoological gardens and the world famous ‘Chappan Dukan’ (56 shops) street, enjoying the scrumptious food and globally acknowledged cuisine of the state.

We are thankful to Ms. Selina of the Consulate General of India and Mr. Ramkumar Thangaraj, Consul (Education, Passport & Attestation) for giving us the opportunity and inviting us to attend the convention. 

We are more than grateful to Mr. Srivalsan Murugan, Principal and CEO along with the SLT and SMT team of OOB for providing us with this platform of learning, achieving and gaining so much more!