Unique Roads Named After Ho Chi Minh in India

India is the first country to have a road named after Ho Chi Minh and build a bronze statue of him, which shows the respect that the Indian people have for the Vietnamese leader and the familiarity of Ho Chi Minh in Indian social life.
January 11, 2022 | 15:27
Unique Roads Named After Ho Chi Minh in India
Monument of President Ho Chi Minh on the road named after him in Kolkata. (Photo: VOV)

Ho Chi Minh Sarani, named in 1968 by the people of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, is the first in India to be named after Uncle Ho.

At the wish of local people, the city council and the Indo-Vietnam Solidarity Committee in West Bengal named the road and held a solemn inauguration ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of Uncle Ho's birthday, which took place in 1990.

Ho Chi Minh Sarani is a central route in Kolkata and home to one of the most modern shopping centers in the city.

Unique Roads Named After Ho Chi Minh in India
A road named Ho Chi Minh Marg in New Delhi, India.

Regarding locals' sentiment toward the Vietnamese leader, Indian journalist and writer Geetesh Sharma once said: "For us, the people of India, the phrase "Vietnamese people" and "Ho Chi Minh" are as close as their own flesh and blood. Especially for Kolkata people in 1945-1975, when Vietnam devote all its forces to the arduous fight against France, USA and Japan. During that time, the Indian people, particularly those in West Bengal united in the anti-war movement supporting the heroic and patriotic Vietnam."

An avenue in New Delhi was also named after Ho Chi Minh in 1990. When passing GPS devices on the avenue, passengers hear Uncle Ho's name read out loud by the devices, as proof of international friends' affection toward the Vietnamese leader.

India is also the first country worldwide to establish a bronze statue of Uncle Ho.

Ho Chi Minh's 100th birthday was celebrated in West Bengal with the local authority's decision to establish a bronze statue of Uncle Ho in the central park, where Ho Chi Minh Sarani Avenue meets Jawaharlan Nehru Avenue.

Unique Roads Named After Ho Chi Minh in India
Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau (left) and Geetesh Sharma standing next to a statue of Ho Chi Minh in India.

Kolkata leaders invited a Vietnamese painter and sculptor to survey the landscape. The then Indian Minister of Culture, Bhudadev Battacharya directly supervised the work.

The bronze Uncle Ho's monument is solemnly placed on a block of brown granite brought from a province more than 1,000km from Kolkata. The stone can last for hundreds of years. The older it is, the shinier it gets. The Indians are proud that they are the first country in the world to construct a bronze statue of Ho Chi Minh with great admiration. The statue is respected and well cared for by the residents.

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