Ban Ki-moon’s nostalgic visit to India

He came, saw and conquered 1.2-billion Indian hearts.

The occasion was Delhi’s Jamia Milia University conferring on this great Asian diplomat a Doctor of Literature degree (honoris causa). The official part of his India tour during the last week-end was, of course, full of meetings – with the prime minister, external affairs minister, speaker of the Lower House (Lok Sabha) of Parliament among others.

But, it was his brief interaction with the commoners after the University convocation that endeared Ban Ki-Moon to all. Speaking to the media, the UN Secretary General became even nostalgic at times, saying how he started his long diplomatic career in New Delhi, exactly 40 years ago.

His son was born In Delhi in 1974. And, several years later, his daughter chose an Indian boy as her life partner. He regarded his grandson as the best joint venture initiative between Korea and India. Of course, he spoke on the global geo-political developments, including flashpoints such as Iran and West Asia, terrorism, Myanmar and Sri Lanka and always sounded optimistic about the future of the region and the world, its peace and economic stability.