Today is the thirty-fifth anniversary of India's independence. We attended the ceremony with part of the delegation. There was some disagreement over whether I should attend in person, but in the end I decided to go. A magnificent ceremony was held in the large square beside the historic Redford Castle. Seat number one belonged to Mrs Gandhi.
Today is the 35th anniversary of Indian independence. We attended the ceremony with part of the delegation. There was some debate as to whether I should attend personally, but in the end I decided to go. A magnificent ceremony was held in the main square beside the historic Redford Castle. The first seat was for Mrs Gandhi, the second for me, and the third for the Speaker of the Indian Parliament, and so on...
They said it was the first time a colour film had been made in India. Mrs Gandhi spoke for twenty minutes and the ceremony finished at eight in the morning. I was informed that tomorrow the opposition in Parliament will move a no-confidence motion against the Gandhi government, and for this reason the parliamentary recess has been postponed.
In the afternoon, I went to Lucknow by Indian Air Force plane at the invitation of the local ulema. I received a warm welcome. A magnificent gathering of Shia Muslims and the clergy was held at the Asfi Husseiniya – originally built by Asaf-ud-Daula – and I delivered a speech. I was presented with plaques, the inscriptions on which were read aloud. The noon and afternoon prayers were held in the adjacent mosque, with me leading them.
We had lunch at the city's Shi'a university – which they said has seven thousand students – in the presence of the ulema and some of the professors. We made a passing visit to three religious schools: “Nazimiyya”, “Soltania”... The students gave us a warm welcome. The people of India hold the Islamic Republic in high regard.
We arrived in Delhi at five in the afternoon. I was due to attend a meeting of non-aligned ambassadors, who had been invited by our ambassador, Mr Asadilar. It was late and the embassy officials had apologised. Apparently, many people had not turned up either, and only about fifteen of the forty invited guests were present. The female translator for the Cuban ambassador had also attended in inappropriate attire, and I did not go. The rest of the party did attend, and the delegation members held talks with them.
We were scheduled to go to the President's residence to congratulate him on India's Independence Day. I sent part of the delegation and did not go myself. We gave the reason for not going that Mrs Gandhi had not thanked our delegation at the celebration this morning.
In the evening, the speakers of the two houses and a number of India's dignitaries were our guests at the Taj Mahal Hotel. After dinner, the Speaker of the Senate and I spoke in turn. I spoke about developing cooperation to combat injustices in international relations.
Late at night, we came to “Hyderabad House” to sleep. We saw and distributed the gifts that Mr Mousavian, the Minister of Mines, had brought to give to the Indians.
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