I have Indian DNA, says Indonesia Prez

Update: 2025-01-28 06:31 IST
I have Indian DNA, says Indonesia Prez
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New Delhi: Indonesia has deep civilizational links with India and many Indonesian names come from Sanskrit, the country's President Prabowo Subianto has said, asserting that he has ‘Indian DNA’. Subianto was the chief guest at India's 76th Republic Day celebrations on Sunday.

Speaking at the banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Indonesian President also referred to his country's cultural links with India, saying he starts dancing whenever he hears Indian music. Subianto said he had come to India for a few days, but he learnt a lot from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, programmes and commitment to alleviate poverty. "Your (Modi's) commitment to help the marginalised, to help the weakest part of your society, is an inspiration for us...Why not follow a good example. especially when you have many good examples," he said.

Citing ancient civilisation links between India and Indonesia, Subianto said, "A very important part of our language comes from Sanskrit. Our names, many names of Indonesia are actually Sanskrit names. And, in our daily life the influence of ancient Indian civilisation is very strong. I think it is also part of our genetics".

"I would like to report to the president, prime minister, vice-president' -- a few weeks ago, I had my genetic sequencing test and my DNA test, and they tell me that I have Indian DNA," he said.

The comments left Modi and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, who were sitting adjacent to the visiting dignitary, and the entire gathering in splits.

Adding a touch of Bollywood to the event, an Indonesian delegation also sang the superhit song "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai".

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