Chandrikapersad Santokhi, Suriname's Indian-origin President takes oath in Sanskrit
India-origin Chandrikapersad Santokhi, Suriname's newly-elected President, took oath in Sanskrit while holding Vedas in his hand during the inauguration ceremony on July 16. During the oath-taking ceremony, Santokhi repeated the Sanskrit verses chanted by the priest.
The Indian social media went berserk after watching a foreign leader taking oath in Sanskrit and congratulated him.
Santokhi replaced Desi Bouterse to become the new president of the South American nation.
Santokhi was born on February 3, 1959, and grew up in the countryside as the youngest in a family of nine children. He studied at the Police Academy of the Netherlands in Apeldoorn for four years and returned to Suriname in September 1982 to work for the police. In 1991, Santokhi was appointed chief commissioner of police.
