Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took her maiden trip to Nathu La border in Sikkim where she had a brief conversation with the Chinese soldiers.
A video was recorded of the Defence Minister and the Chinese soldiers exchanging greetings and Ms. Sitharaman teaching them how to say ‘Namaste.’
Ms. Sitharaman in the video asks, “Do you know what ‘Namaste’ means?” The soldiers looked confused and some of the Indian soldiers tried to help them out but Ms. Sitharaman asked them to wait. One of the People’s Liberation Army personnel smiled as he said, “Namaste means nice to meet you.”
She went on to ask the Chinese soldiers what would they say as she says Namaste. One of the soldiers translating explained that they say, “Ni hao.”
The video has gone viral on social media with people from India and China giving their views on this brief conversation. The Defense Minister posted a Tweet that read, “Acknowledged a row of Chinese soldiers from across the fence who were taking pictures on my reaching Nathu La.” The post had a picture of her waving at the soldiers attached to the Tweet.
See the video below:
Snippet of Smt @nsitharaman interacting with Chinese soldiers at the border at Nathu-la in Sikkim yesterday. Namaste! pic.twitter.com/jmNCNFaGep
— Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) 8 October 2017