Spreading intellectual heritage, promoting Vietnam-India friendship bridge

On September 7, the Vietnam-India Friendship Association of Hanoi organized an exchange and book introduction session for Indian Autonomy by Mahatma Gandhi and Vietnam 1982-2017: From Ruins to Miracles by Geetesh Sharma at Hanoi Book Street.

The event aims to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19, 1945 - August 19, 2025), National Day September 2 and the 78th anniversary of Indian Independence Day (August 15, 1947 - August 15, 2025).

Attending the event were Indian delegates, Hanoi city delegates, members of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam-India Friendship Association of Hanoi city, and representatives of the Vietnam-India Friendship Association branch.

Sharing about the background of the birth of Vietnam 1982-2017: From ruins to miracles , Ambassador Ton Sinh Thanh, former Vietnamese Ambassador to India and editor-in-chief of the translation, said that the idea of ​​writing the book came when Mr. Geetesh Sharma met National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan during his visit to India in 2016.

Receiving the welcome from National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and the support of Indian Minister of Communications, author Geetesh Sharma had the opportunity to return to Vietnam after many previous visits, urging him to realize this passionate idea.

According to Ambassador Ton Sinh Thanh, the book recounts the changes the author witnessed in Vietnam during his first visit in 1982 and his visit at the end of 2017. Through the lens of a writer and the strong feelings of a person devoted to Vietnam, Mr. Geetesh Sharma not only describes the natural beauty and rich culture of the S-shaped land but also portrays a true picture of the development journey of the beautiful Southeast Asian country.

Ambassador Ton Sinh Thanh speaks at the book launch. (Photo: Phung Linh)

Looking back at the process of compiling and publishing the book, Ambassador Ton Sinh Thanh concluded that “to see the Earth clearly, you have to go to the Moon”, implying that the perspective from international friends has clearly reflected the changes and progress in Vietnam over the years.

The 180-page book contains simple, straightforward sentences that evoke many emotions, encapsulating the miraculous transformation journey of Vietnam from the pre- and post-Doi Moi periods.

According to Mr. Ton Sinh Thanh, Vietnam 1982-2017: From ruins to miracles is not only a memory of the past but also an inspiration for the present and future generations in preserving and developing the good relationship between Vietnam and India.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Le Thi Hang Nga, former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Indian and Asian Studies , Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, expressed her deep gratitude to the Vietnam-India Friendship Association of Hanoi for choosing to introduce the work Indian Autonomy . According to her, the translation of the book was born out of her respect and admiration for the author Mahatma Gandhi.

Dr. Le Thi Hang Nga shared that she first came into contact with Mahatma Gandhi's works in 2004, when she was a student majoring in History in India. At first, Gandhi's thoughts were difficult to understand due to their profound philosophical nature. However, the more she read, learned, and pondered, the sharpness of the great leader's thoughts deeply inspired her.

Reading Gandhi gradually became a hobby, helping her improve herself and nurturing the desire to translate the book Indian Self-Government into Vietnamese with the hope that many other readers can also access and be inspired by his thoughts.

According to Dr. Le Thi Hang Nga, in Vietnam, readers are familiar with Tagore's poetry, excerpts from epics such as Ramayana or Mahabharata , but understanding of Mahatma Gandhi is still limited. As a researcher, she hopes to partly fill that gap.

New books introduced at the exchange. (Photo: Phung Linh)

Explaining the reason for choosing to translate the book Indian Autonomy instead of other works, Dr. Le Thi Hang Nga said that Gandhi is a great author with many famous works, but the book Indian Autonomy and Gandhi's Memoirs are considered the ideological foundation to better understand the spiritual leader of the Indian people.

Indian Dominion consists of 255 pages with 20 chapters, a basic analysis of Indian and South African politics in the first half of the 20th century. Written in the form of a conversation between two people, the “reader” and the “editor”, the work opens up issues that continue to be hot topics in the contemporary world today, thereby highlighting the non-violent ideology for a better world of leader Mahatma Gandhi.

Dr. Le Thi Hang Nga emphasized that the organization of this event contributes to promoting people-to-people diplomatic relations between Vietnam and India. In the future, promoting research, publishing and academic exchanges on Gandhi's thoughts will be a strong bridge for the friendly relations between the two countries.

Closing the exchange session, Chairman of the Vietnam-India Friendship Association of Hanoi Phan Lan Tu expressed his emotion as the event contributed to spreading the book's ideas, messages and values ​​to readers, further strengthening the friendship between the two countries.

According to Ms. Phan Lan Tu, the process of translating the two books was not easy when it had to be published on the occasion of the great festival, especially the book Indian Self-Government by Mahatma Gandhi. The book went through many revisions, so that it could both reflect the spirit and ideology of the Indian leader's time and be easy to understand and suitable for Vietnamese readers.

Appreciating the book Vietnam 1982-2017: From Ruins to Miracles by Geetesh Sharma, Ms. Phan Lan Tu believes that the book is especially suitable for young readers who have not witnessed the difficult post-war period of the nation. Understanding more about the strong rise of Vietnam, young people will be more proud and love their homeland and Fatherland.

Delegates took souvenir photos at the exchange and book introduction session. (Photo: Phung Linh)

From the perspective of a participant and an enthusiastic reader, Dr. Pham Thi Thanh Huyen, Head of the Department of World History, Faculty of History, Hanoi National University of Education, said that India is a country with a long-standing relationship with Vietnam, sharing many similarities in culture and history. However, she is concerned that the Vietnamese people's approach to Indian culture and history is not commensurate with the stature of this civilization as well as the depth of the two countries' diplomatic relations.

Therefore, according to Dr. Thanh Huyen, exchange sessions with the participation of translators are necessary and need to be more widely disseminated. In addition to books, it is necessary to diversify cultural contact channels, promote cultural exchange and dissemination through movies, cuisine, and fashion to shorten the distance with young people.

Delegates shared the same opinion, Mahatma Gandhi's Indian Autonomy and Geetesh Sharma's Vietnam 1982-2017: From Ruins to Miracles are two outstanding works, symbols of friendship and increasingly strong relations between Vietnam and India, two countries with a meaningful common history with solidarity activities over the past decades.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/lan-toa-di-san-tri-thuc-thuc-day-cau-noi-huu-nghi-viet-nam-an-do-327072.html