‘Strategic miscalculation’ led to exodus of Armenians from India : Ambassador Armen Martirosyan

05 July, 2017

India’s Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari visited Armenia recently to celebrate 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Armenians had ancient trade relations with several parts of India and, by the 7th century, a few Armenian settlements had appeared in Kerala, along the Malabar Coast. An Armenian merchant-cum-diplomat, Thomas Cana, is believed to have reached the Malabar Coast in 780, long before Portuguese Vasco da Gama, using the overland route.

The Armenian diaspora, having immigrated to India hundreds of years ago, are well woven into the fabric of Indian society. Upon the founding of the Armenian nation in 1991, many Armenian-Indians returned to their homeland. Now there are hardly 100 Armenians in India, mostly in Kolkata, where the Armenian College still functions.

Armenia’s Ambassador to India H.E. Mr. Armen Martirosyan, in an interview with India Review & Analysis, talks about these bilateral ties, ancient and modern. Read more:

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