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International Roma Conference And Cultural Festival in India - February 2016:
https://www.facebook.com/International-Roma-Conference-And…/
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‘You are the children of India’: Sushma Swaraj to Romas
New Delhi, 13/02/2016 - In a display of belongingness towards the Roma
community, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Friday that
Romas spread across the world are the children of India.
“You are
the children of India who migrated and lived in challenging
circumstances in foreign lands for centuries. Yet you maintained your
Indian identity,” Sushma Swaraj said while inaugurating the three-day
International Roma Conference and Cultural Festival 2016 here.
“A
strong 20 million Roma population is spread over 30 countries
encompassing West Asia, Europe, America and Australia,” she said.
Read more on
http://www.newsgram.com/you-are-the-children-of-india-sush…/
‘India should declare Romas as national minority of Indian origin’
Smriti Kak Ramachandran, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
12/02/2016 - New Delhi should declare Roms as a national minority of
Indian origin, as it has nothing to lose by admitting that these are
people of Indian descent, feels Jovan Damjanovic the president of the
World Roma Organisation - Rromanipen.
The Roma are gypsies who
are believed to trace their origin to nomadic communities like the Dom,
Banjara, Gujjar, Sansi, Chauhan and Sikligar from the North West parts
of India. Damjanovic who is in the Capital to attend a three-day
conference on the international Roma community being organised by the
Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in collaboration with the
Antar Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad Bharat (ARSPB) told Hindustan Times in
an exclusive interview that recognition from the Indian authorities will
be the first step towards countering the negative perceptions about the
Roms.
Read more on
http://www.hindustantimes.com/…/story-xlQJRtOLtSTUqId652QOn…
Can Romas be part of Indian diaspora?
New Delhi, 28/02/2016 - The possibility of recognising the 20-million
strong Roma community spread across 30 countries as a part of Indian
diaspora is gaining ground with the government in the process of
evaluating such a recommendation. After External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj stated that the people of the Roma community, whose ancestors
are believed to have migrated some 1,500 years ago, were children of
India, an international conference here ended with a recommendation to
recognise them as part of the Indian diaspora.
"You are the
children of India who migrated and lived in challenging circumstances in
foreign lands for centuries. Yet you maintained your Indian identity,"
Sushma Swaraj said while inaugurating the three-day International Roma
Conference and Cultural Festival 2016 here earlier this month.
Read more on
http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=382640
Meet the Roma: 2,000 years ago, the first ‘Indians’ to go to Europe
Roma peoples live in some 30 countries across West Asia, Europe,
America and Australia. The largest Roma community is in Turkey — around
2.75 million.
23/02/2016 - The Roma or Romani are a travelling
people who live mostly in Europe and America, and whose origins are
widely accepted by anthropologists, historians and geneticists as lying
in northern India. The Roma are known by different names in different
countries — Zigeuner in Germany, Tsiganes or Manus in France, Tatara in
Sweden, Gitano in Spain, Tshingan in Turkey and Greece, Gypsy in the UK,
etc. Some of these names have clear derogatory connotations and are
considered racial slurs by the Romani people. In her speech to the
International Roma Conference and Cultural Festival in New Delhi on
February 12, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj counted painter
Pablo Picasso, actor-filmmaker Charlie Chaplin, entertainer Elvis
Presley, Hollywood icon Michael Caine, tennis star Ilie Nastase, and
actor Yul Brynner among prominent Roma.
Read more on
http://indianexpress.com/…/meet-the-roma-2000-years-ago-th…/
Should India recognise the accomplished Romani people as a national minority?
If India takes up the suggestion of the World Roma Organization
president Jovan Damjanovic to recognise the Romani people — better known
as Gypsies — as a 'national minority', it could certainly make the list
of celebrity Persons of Indian Origin quite dazzling. From Charlie
Chaplin to Elvis Presley, Ilie Nastase to Rita Hayworth, Pablo Picasso
to Tracey Emin, the roll call of people of Romani origin will ensure
that there is scarcely a milestone or accolade that India cannot lay
claim to.
Read more at
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/…/articles…/50969403.cms
Roma people and their Indian connection
19/02/2016 - The recently concluded International Roma Conference in
New Delhi brought into focus about the Roma and how India is even
connected to this issue.
There are more than 11 million people
who are called Roma or Romanis or even Gypsies. They live in various
parts of Europe, mainly concentrated along the Balkan peninsula
(example: Romania, Bulgaria), Russia, Eastern parts of Turkey and as far
as Brazil and USA. The name Gypsy derived from the assumption that
these people originate from Egypt, which is obviously not true. The name
Gypsy derived from the assumption that these people originate from
Egypt, which is obviously not true.
Read more on
http://www.newsgram.com/roma-people-and-their-indian-conne…/
The Modi Government, and RSS, Are Keen to Claim the Roma as Indians, and Hindus
The government recently organised a conference that officially
validated – for the first time – the Indian origin of the Romas, raising
their hopes of being a part of the Indian diaspora. But the decision is
not free of Hindutva politics
New Delhi, 15/02/2016 - The Roma
community spread across as many as 30 countries in 5 continents has just
got a huge boost in its fight for an identity. Few would have thought –
even among the Romas – that a day would come when the Indian government
would make a tectonic shift to own them for their “Hindi and Hindu
origin’’ and pave the way to welcome them “home”.
The Narendra
Modi government did just that by hosting a number of prominent Romas
from 15 countries in New Delhi to deliberate on issues surrounding the
community – including its Indian origin – thus validating a historical
claim besides raising the hope of being recognised as a part of the
Indian diaspora.
Read more on
http://thewire.in/…/the-modi-government-and-rss-are-keen-t…/
A cherished tradition
18/02/2016 - Few people know that reputed names like Elvis Presley,
Pablo Picasso, Charlie Chaplin, Yul Brynner, Sir Michael Caine, Bob
Hoskins and Illie Nastase all belonged to the Roma community.
Thirty-three scholars from 12 countries and 15 scholars from India
discussed the Indian roots of the Roma Community at the International
Roma Conference, organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations
(ICCR). Gifted Roma artistes from 12 countries performed on the
inaugural evening of the cultural festival held at the Azad Bhavan from
12-14 February.
Read more on
http://www.thestatesman.com/…/a-cherished-tradi…/124299.html
Gazni invasion resulted in exodus from India who we call Roma: Professor Courthiade
New Delhi, 21/02/2016 - Romas left India a long back ago but when?
Here, the confusion starts. Whether they left India in waves or was it a
one-time movement? Many theories have been proposed to solve this
puzzle.
A 62-year professor, Marcel Courthiade from the National
Institute of Oriental Languages and Cultures, Universite Paris-Sorbonne,
France gave one such theory. “It was one big exodus, which took place
in the 11th century when Mahmud Ghazni invaded Kannauj,” the professor
opined, speaking at the recently concluded International Roma Conferecne
in New Delhi.
Read more on
http://www.newsgram.com/gazni-invation-results-exodus-of-r…/
Elvis was desi, so was Picasso: ICCR traces the roots of Romany people to Indian subcontinent
20/02/2016 - George Mikes, the British humourist who was born in
Hungary, claimed, tongue in cheek, that everyone in the world was of
Hungarian origin. The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) might
take exception to such a pronouncement by making the counterclaim that
everyone – or at least almost everyone – is actually of Indian descent.
At its recent three-day Delhi conference – attended by international
scholars and ministers Sushma Swaraj and Mahesh Sharma – the ICCR raised
an old theory which traces the origins of the globally scattered
community of the Romany folk – variously known as Roma, gypsies, tinkers
and Zingari – to India where this nomadic tribe is said to be
represented by the Banjaras.
The language of the Roma – who are
believed to have migrated from India to Europe 2,500 years ago – is said
to have a number of words in common with Hindustani and many of the
Romany people worship a deity said to be akin to goddess Kali.
Celebrities such as king of rock‘n’roll Elvis Presley, paint maestro
Pablo Picasso, and film actors Yul Brynner, Michael Caine and Bob
Hoskins are, according to the ICCR director general, of Roma stock, and
as such could technically be subsumed under the generic classification
of PIOs, or People of Indian Origin.
Read more on
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/…/elvis-was-desi-…/
The Roma people: India’s pride
Unlike many Indian nationals who refuse to acknowledge their Indian
ancestry, Roma community members worldwide have always been proud of
their Indian origins and linguistic and cultural affinity with their
mother country. We need to care for them
15/02/2016 -
Inaugurating the three-day International Roma Conference and Cultural
Festival 2016 in New Delhi on Friday, Union Minister for External
Affairs Sushma Swaraj described the people of the Roma community spread
across various parts of the world as children of India, who migrated and
lived in challenging circumstances in foreign lands for centuries while
retaining their Indian identity.
Read more on
http://www.dailypioneer.com/…/the-roma-people-indias-pride.…
Call to recognise Romas as Indian diaspora
New Delhi, 14/02/2016 - Following External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj terming people of the Roma community spread across the world
children of India, an international conference here concluded on Sunday
with a call to recognise them as India's diaspora.
"Roma people
are an Indian nation, the autochthonous territory of southeastern and
western Europe, but also in other parts of the world, with all
attributes that make them a special national entity," Jovan Damjanovic,
president of World Roma Organisation, said at the three-day
International Roma Conference and Cultural Festival 2016 here.
"We would like to be treated as the Indian diaspora and can make a
contribution to our country of origin's growth," he said at the
conference organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)
and the Antar Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad (ARSP)-Bharat.
Read more on
http://www.thestatesman.com/…/call-to-recognise…/123583.html
In bid to expand PIO footprint, government tells Romas, ‘You’re India’s children’
New Delhi, 13/02/2016 - For members of the Roma community in the
audience, it must have felt like homecoming. On Thursday, union external
affairs minister Sushma Swaraj welcomed them with the words, "You are
the children of India who migrated and lived in challenging
circumstances in foreign lands for centuries. Yet you maintained your
Indian identity. You are indeed the first flag-bearers of Indian culture
overseas. Your 'baro than' (land of ancestors), India, once again
welcomes you with an open heart," she said.
The minister was
addressing a gathering of Roma scholars and performers from 12 countries
attending a three-day International Roma conference and cultural
festival. According to an ICCR note, Roma community, also referred to as
Romani people, is 20 million strong and spread across 30 countries
covering west Asia, Europe, America and Australia. Treated harshly down
the ages, Romani people are referred to by different names in different
countries: gypsies in Britain, Tshingan in Turkey, Gitano in Spain,
Tatara in Sweden and Tsyiganes in France.
Read more on
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/…/articlesh…/50969020.cms
'Naak’, ‘kaan’, ‘muh’ - Romas share common Hindi words
The Roma people, said to be of Indian origin, have still preserved many
of the Hindi words of their language, like ‘naak’ (nose), ‘kaan’ (
ear), ‘muh’ (mouth) though they migrated across the world hundreds of
years ago. Today, the Romas, comprising 20 million people spread over 30
countries, said they want to be treated as “Indian diaspora”.
At
the recent three-day International Roma Conference and Cultural
Festival 2016 in New Delhi, Jovan Damjanovic, president of World Roma
Organisation, said that “Roma people are an Indian Nation, the
autochthonous territory of south-eastern and Western Europe, but also in
other parts of the world, with all attributes that make them a special
national entity. We would like to be treated as Indian diaspora and can
make a contribution to our country of origin’s growth.”
Read more on
http://www.thestatesman.com/…/roma-people-of-in…/123829.html
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