Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family arrived in Ahmedabad yesterday on Day 3 of their India visit. Dressed in traditional Indian attire in various shades of red and yellow, Trudeau family seemed to have embraced Indian culture. Mr Trudeau, his wife, and their three children spent their Sunday visiting the Taj Mahal and later at an elephant conservation center in Mathura. Yesterday, they visited Sabarmati Aashram, and Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar.
Later during Monday, it was a pretty historic occasion for the Canadian prime minister since he addressed prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A). Trudeau was part of a discussion on ‘Education and Investment Opportunities’ with the students. This was the first time a foreign leader had visited the campus.
Trudeau spoke about the idea of an ideal citizen, American President Donald Trump, and gender balance. “Citizens are not fools. Citizens can tell whether someone is genuine in their approach or just trying to live up to some lofty familial expectation,” he said. Talking about sexism, Trudeau added, “Any comments about how a man looks aren’t even an eyelash worth of the systemic discrimination women face. As a man in business and politics I had lots of advantage but I didn’t go near discrimination, sexism, superficiality and judgement that women go through daily.”
The Canadian PM mentioned that he and Donald Trump were similar in their approach towards the future. He also felt that they both are working for the upliftment of the middle class and how the policies of both the leaders have worked very well for the Canadian and American economies.