On the historical ties cemented by Gurudev Tagore and Netaji…

India’s relations with the former Czechoslovakia, and with the Czech Republic, have always been warm and friendly. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore visited Czechoslovakia in 1921 and 1926. A bust of Tagore is installed in an exclusive residential area in Prague named after him. The Indian leader who visited Czechoslovakia the most times between 1933 and1938 was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. He founded the Indo-Czech Association in Prague in 1934 and met Edvard Benes several times as Foreign Minister and President. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru accompanied by his daughter Indira Gandhi visited Prague in 1938, and subsequently influenced the strong condemnation of the 1938 Munich Pact by the Indian nationalist movement.

On diplomatic ties…

The first Czechoslovak Consulate in India was opened in 1920 in Mumbai. Czechoslovakia was one of the first countries which recognized independence of India in 1947. The diplomatic relations between India and Czechoslovakia were established on November 18, 1947 and in 1948 the Embassies have been opened in New Delhi and Prague. Presidents Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Giani Zail Singh and R. Venkataraman visited Czechoslovakia in 1965, 1983 and 1988 respectively. Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru paid a visit in 1955, as did PM Smt. Indira Gandhi in August 1972 and Rajiv Gandhi in August 1986. Foreign Minister Jiri Dienstbier made the first high level contact after the Velvet Revolution in November 1990. In 1993 Indian Minister of State for External Affairs R.L. Bhatia was the first non-European Minister to visit the Czech Republic following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. A lot of subsequent high level visits paved the way for further deepening bilateral relations in all areas of mutual cooperation including people-to-people contacts. Thus, a way opened for a group of people, joined not only by professional interests, but also mutual sympathies and friendships, to come together.