India and Argentina established diplomatic relations in 1947, the same year India gained independence. Even before independence, India and Argentina shared warm cultural ties.

Victoria Ocampo, the renowned Argentine writer and publisher of the international literary magazine Sur, spent nine months in 1934 at Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s Visva-Bharati University. On her invitation, Tagore visited Argentina in November 1924. Tagore’s collection of 52 lyrical poems called “Purabi”, published a hundred years ago, was dedicated to ‘Vijaya’, a name given to Ocampo by him.

“In September 1968, Indira Gandhi visited Argentina. Her visit was widely covered by international media. She met Victoria Ocampo in Buenos Aires and conferred on her the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature of Visva-Bharati University.

 Giani Zail Singh, then President of India, visited Argentina in 1984. He addressed the Argentine Congress and met families from Punjab who had emigrated to Argentina around 1930. He described Argentina as a “sister republic from the other side of the planet”. 

In January 2007, ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) successfully launched PEHUENSAT-1, an Argentine nano-satellite, along with other satellites. 

Both India and Argentina are members of the Antarctic Treaty, which promotes peaceful and cooperative scientific research in Antarctica. Both countries have research stations in Antarctica. They participate in joint projects and scientific endeavours in the region. This collaboration includes the exchange of data, expertise, and personnel. 

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has an MoU with San Luis University for cooperation.

Some pictures showcasing the cultural relations between India and Argentina, which I took when I visited Argentina many years ago.

Photos and text by Prerna Jain.