Indian Opposition Leader Connects Tagore, Borges, and the Birth of the Global South

Attention is turning to India’s growing strategic and economic engagement with Latin America as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Argentina—the first Indian PM to do so since 1999. Beyond bilateral trade or lithium cooperation, the relationship between India and Argentina is shaped by decades of literary, philosophical, and multilateral connections. 

Image Source: Jairam Ramesh on X

These have been asserted by prominent opposition leader Jairam Ramesh, who is also General Secretary in-charge Communications, Indian National Congress. He has written a pointed post to highlight historical connotation.

In 1924, Rabindranath Tagore visited Argentina at the invitation of literary icon Victoria Ocampo, dedicating his poetic collection Purabi to her. Their bond—intellectual and emotional—left a deep cultural imprint. In 1968, Ramesh noted, Indira Gandhi met Ocampo and awarded her an honorary doctorate from Visva-Bharati University, a rare gesture acknowledging the cross-cultural legacy between the two countries.

Argentine literary giant Jorge Luis Borges was also drawn to India. Inspired by The Light of Asia, he explored Buddhist philosophy throughout his writing life. 

His 1977 lecture on Buddhism, delivered in Buenos Aires while completely blind, remains a standout example of Argentina's intellectual engagement with Indian thought.

Argentina issued these stamps in honour of PM Indira Gandhi in 1986 https://t.co/zwVwaTuw0P pic.twitter.com/t53usSE1hZ

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 5, 2025

On the economic front, Raúl Prebisch, the Argentine economist who helped establish UNCTAD, played a central role in shaping the discourse on development and the Global South. 

Dr. Manmohan Singh worked with UNCTAD in the 1960s, and the organization’s second major session was hosted in New Delhi in 1968—marking a key moment in India’s leadership among developing nations.

All of these insights were shared by Congress MP and historian of Indian diplomacy, Jairam Ramesh, in a detailed post on X (formerly Twitter). 

His post offers a timely and layered context to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing visit to Argentina—reminding readers that the India–Argentina relationship spans much more than symbolic gesture; it is historically rooted in decades of cultural, literary, and multilateral connections.