Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday expressed his appreciation after Uzbek students recited his poems during his visit to the Mahatma Gandhi Centre at Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, saying their rendition conveyed his emotions exactly as he had felt them.
Modi visited the Mahatma Gandhi Centre during his two-day state visit to Uzbekistan on August 29-30. At the centre, he interacted with Indologists and scholars pursuing academic interests related to India, as well as students learning Hindi and other Indian subjects.
The interaction highlighted the growing interest in Indian languages and culture among students in Uzbekistan. The university has a long record of teaching Hindi, and 2026 marks 80 years of Hindi-language teaching at the institution. According to the Prime Minister's Office, Uzbek students have shown considerable interest in learning Hindi, with more than 3,000 words shared between Uzbek and Hindi.
Students' Hindi recital draws PM's response
During the visit, Uzbek students recited poems written by Modi in Hindi. The Prime Minister later responded warmly to the performance, saying the students had expressed the emotions in the poems exactly as they existed in his heart.
The moment added a cultural dimension to Modi's Uzbekistan visit, which otherwise included high-level discussions on trade, investment, defence, healthcare, education, tourism, critical minerals and other areas of bilateral cooperation.
The Prime Minister's visit to the Mahatma Gandhi Centre also underlined the role of education and cultural exchanges in India-Uzbekistan relations. Modi interacted with scholars and Indologists at the centre and signed the visitors' book during the visit.
Hindi scholarship announced for Uzbek students
During the state visit, Modi announced the Lal Bahadur Shastri Scholarship for Hindi language studies in Uzbekistan. The initiative is aimed at supporting the continued interest in Hindi among Uzbek students and strengthening educational and cultural links between the two countries.
The announcement came as India and Uzbekistan agreed to further expand cooperation in education and human resource development. Their joint statement noted the contribution of education and people-to-people exchanges to the longstanding relationship between the two countries. I
India-Uzbekistan ties get wider push
Modi's cultural engagement in Tashkent came alongside extensive bilateral discussions with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The two countries reviewed cooperation across areas including trade and investment, innovation, digital public infrastructure, defence and security, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, agriculture, education, tourism and space. Several agreements and MoUs were also exchanged during the visit.
India and Uzbekistan also agreed to strengthen cooperation in human resource development and academic research. The joint statement highlighted the expansion of India studies in Uzbekistan and Uzbek studies in India, reflecting the broader educational component of the bilateral relationship.
Cultural ties remain central
Modi's interaction with Uzbek students at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre offered a more personal element to his diplomatic engagements in Tashkent. The students' Hindi recital demonstrated the interest in Indian language and culture that has developed over decades of academic engagement between the two countries.
The Prime Minister's visit to the centre came after he paid floral tributes at the Shastri Memorial in Tashkent. The year 2026 marks 60 years since former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri died in Tashkent in 1966.
The visit also comes as India and Uzbekistan seek to deepen their strategic partnership, with both sides describing their relationship as rooted in longstanding friendship and historical and cultural connections.
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