I feel I'm partly a citizen of India, says nostalgic Suu Kyi
November 16, 2012  14:50
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This is what Nobel Laureate and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said during her visit to her alma mater Lady Sri Ram (LSR) College for Women in New Delhi today. The dignified and graceful Suu Kyi said she felt that she was partly a citizen of India, given that she had acquired her college degree from her alma mater.   Suu Kyi was given a standing ovation when she entered the college auditorium, where according to her, she learned how to sing.

"Coming back to Lady Shri Ram College, it's not just coming home, it's coming to a place where I can feel that my hopes have not been in vain. This is what Lady Shri Ram and its young girls have done for me," said Suu Kyi.  

Accompanied by Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor, Suu Kyi was all smiles, while sitting on stage and listening to a choir recitation of a poem by Rabindranath Tagore.  

"When they were singing Tagore's song, and then, I looked at them, and they looked back at me, I could feel that they understood what I wanted out of life, for them, as well as for me and my people. Our hopes are all the same," she added.  

Describing her emotional bonding with the college and India, she said: "I feel myself partly a citizen of India- a citizen of love and honour."

The 67-year-old leader said she was deeply moved by Tagore's song and added that her optimism had been rejuvenated. "I hope that in Burma (Myanmar), we can build the kind of democratic politics, where opponents in the political fields can be friends, for the sake of the country, and friends for the sake of their own humanity. This is the kind of democratic politics that I would like to see in Burma," Suu Kyi added.
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