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Jaishankar begins visit to Georgia by handing over relic of revered saint
Jaishankar is visiting Georgia during July 9-10 at the invitation of his Georgian counterpart David Zalkaliani.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar began an official visit to Georgia on Friday by handing over a holy relic of Ketevan the Martyr, a 17th-century queen of Kakheti region revered as a saint by the Georgian orthodox church, that was found in India.
Jaishankar handed over the relic placed inside an ornate wooden box to his Georgian counterpart David Zalkaliani at the airport. This was followed by a religious ceremony that was attended by Patriarch Ilia II, the spiritual leader of the Georgian orthodox church, and Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.
There has been a persistent request from the Georgian side for the permanent transfer of the holy relics of Saint Ketevan found in India. Taking into account the historical, religious and spiritual sentiments attached to Saint Ketevan by the Georgian people, the Indian government decided to gift one part of the holy relics to the government and people of Georgia.
The move is aimed at strengthening friendship and understanding between India and Georgia.
“Warmly welcomed in Tbilisi by FM @DZalkaliani. Blessed to hand over the holy relics of St. Queen Ketevan to the people of Georgia. An emotional moment...,” Jaishankar tweeted, along with images of the hand-over ceremony.
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Ketevan the Martyr, who was the queen of Kakheti in eastern Georgia, a hilly region known for its wine, offered herself as a hostage to Persian Shah Abbas I in 1614 in a failed attempt to prevent Kakheti from being attacked by Iranian forces. She was held in Shiraz until 1624 when she was tortured and killed after refusing to convert to Islam.
Two Portuguese friars of the order of St Augustine exhumed the queen’s body in 1628, and it is believed her right arm was brought to Goa in 1627 to be interred in the St Augustine complex.
Her relics were found at the St. Augustine Convent in Goa in 2005 on the basis of medieval Portuguese records. Acting on a request from the Archaeological Survey of India, the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad carried out a mitochondrial DNA analysis which confirmed in 2013 that the bone fragments were consistent with being from a Georgian woman.
In 2017, at the request of the Georgian government, India sent the relics to Georgia for an exhibition for six months. The relics were then personally received by Patriarch Ilia II and a large number of Georgians.
The loan of the relics was extended for another six months before they were returned to India in September 2018.
Jaishankar is visiting Georgia during July 9-10 at the invitation of Zalkaliani. This will be the first visit of an Indian foreign minister to independent Georgia. He will have a meeting with his counterpart that will cover different aspects of bilateral ties and issues of regional and global interest. He will also unveil the newly installed statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Tbilisi.
