There is an old Rwandan saying, “God spends the day elsewhere, but sleeps in Rwanda”.
On 4th July,2025, India and the freedom loving world joined over 14 million Rwandans to commemorate “Kwibohora31” or the 31st Anniversary of Rwanda’s Liberation Day.Speaking at a press conference in Kigali, the bustling capital of Rwanda, the towering Rwandan statesman President Paul Kagame reflected on the nation’s post-liberation journey, saying, “It’s been a very tough but enjoyable journey based on the fact that this is the best thing one can do to be part of the many years of struggle to put things right for our country, for our people.
For Rwanda, the progress we have made speaks for itself: building the unity of purpose, the strength to preserve ourselves and live.
This Rwanda cannot live on the whims of others. No, it happened once, it will never happen again.” The highpoint of the celebrations in India was the grand reception hosted by Jacqueline Mukangira, the Rwandan High Commissioner to India, on 7th July, 2025 within the majestic confines of The Hotel Andaz nestled in the heart of the Aerocity in New Delhi.
Rwanda, the resplendent land of a “thousand hills” and a million smiles, is a wondrous paradise on earth! The monumental mathematician and Nobel laureate Dr. Albert Einstein aptly pontificated, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
“This is where Rwanda proudly steps forthwith its spellbinding wildlife, bewitching flora and fauna and breathtaking greenery vindicating William Shakespeare’s timeless words, “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”
There are 670 bird species in Rwanda out of which Nyungwe Forest, the largest protected mountain rainforest in Africa, is home to 280 bird species like Black-headed Gonoleks, Grey Crowned Storks, Collared Sunbirds, Fischer’s Lovebirds, Great Blue Turacos and Handsome Francolins.
Within the magical confines of Nyungwe Forest, hiking enthusiasts can follow the Igishigishigi Trail and behold the enticing splendour of more than 1080 plant species and chimps and other species of primates, including the Black and White Colobus monkeys, in their natural arboreal habitats.
Rwanda is a veritable haven for “beringei beringei” Gorillas or Mountain Gorillas in all their enthralling, furry glory described by the internationally acclaimed American primatologist and conservationist Diane Fossey (who valiantly forsook her life to save the Gorillas from extinction!) as the “Gorillas in the Mist” and made popular by the captivating 1988 Hollywood film directed by the celebrated British director Michael Apted and starring the well known American character actressSigourney Weaver.
Out of the estimated 1063 Gorillas left in the wild globally, 300 are believed to be residing in the Volcanoes National Park, a stunning stretch of green in the Virunga Mountains.
Similarly, Akagera National Park, which is evocative of scenes straight out of the Walt Disney 1994 starrer The Lion King, abounds in some of the most awe-inspiring animals on the planet, like elephants, zebras, leopards and dark coated antelopes with distinctive humps called Topis (prancing and locking their horns together!), who have found a home amongst the enchanting savannas, dramatic mountains, green grasslands and tree-fringed lakes.
And the newly introduced lions and Eastern Black rhinos have earned the Park the coveted “Big Five” designation! The spectacular crocodile and hippo free Lake Kivu is one of the world’s only three “exploding lakes”.
Its plush shores and the surrounding picturesque, tropical vegetation and the rolling hills transform it to one of the wonders of Rwanda.
Music, dance and poetry are an integral part of Rwandan culture embracing historical events, celebrations, rituals, ceremonies, festivals, social gatherings and storytelling. The most famous traditional dance is “Intore”, a vibrant dance consisting of three components — the ballet, performed by women; the dance of heroes, performed by men; and the pulsating “Ingoma” drums.
There is music that gives rise to dance called “Imbyino” and music that is simply for listening called “Indirimbo”.
Dance songs performed at the pre-colonial Royal Court of the Mwami gave rise to the dance “Umushagirirozz”, known as the dance of the women, which is danced at a slow tempo with sliding steps.
I now turn to Rwandan art and literature. Rwanda is noted for “Imigongo”, a unique cow dung art, which involves the mixing of the dung with natural soils of various colours and painting into patterned ridges, forming geometric shapes. Other arts and crafts include pottery and ceramics, painting and wood carving.
Rwanda has a strong oral tradition ranging from poetry to folk stories enriched by the venerable philosopher, poet and priest Alexis Kagame.
Rwanda is characterised by its age old love for tea, introduced by German missionaries in the early 1900s, and its new found fervour for cricket.
The sparkling golden tea from the evergreen slopes of the Nyungwe Forest has an exquisite taste! Visiting a tea plantation like the famed Pfunda Tea Plantation in the province of Gisenyi will provide a rewarding experience for tea aficionados who can leisurely meander along the tea gardens and witness first-hand the delicate art of tea making.
What is most remarkable about Rwanda is the exalted status women enjoy in all walks of life and its magnificent record of woman empowerment. In fact, 63.8 per cent of Rwanda’s Parliament comprises members of the fairer sex who have proudly captured the very essence of the age old adage “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Is the Hand That Rules the World”!
Everything in Rwanda must be seen through the prism of the 1994 genocide.
During the hundred apocalyptic days starting from 7th April, 1994 to 4thJuly,1994, nearly a million innocent men, women, children and babies (including Rwanda’s first and only female Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana, her husband Ignace Barahira and the Rwandan Foreign Minister Boniface Ngulinzira) were systematically wiped out and no family was left unscathed in one of the most spine chilling and nightmarish genocides the world has ever witnessed.
Today, Rwanda has become Africa’s comeback kid and the dreams of an awakened nation have come alive under the inspiring stewardship of President Kagame.
It has well deservedly earned the adulation and respect of India’s redoubtable Prime Minister Narendra Modi who visited the country on a two day whirlwind mission (he was the first Indian Prime Minister to have set foot on Rwandan soil!) in July,2018.
Significantly, Modi’s visit encompassed a solemn visit to the Gisozi Genocide Memorial in Kigali and his active participation in the “Girinka” (one cow per family) event in the Rweru Model village outside Kigali where he gifted 200 cows to poor Rwandan
families. I cannot do better than wrap up with the felicitous tribute of Akinwande Oluwole “Wole” Soyinka, the redoubtable Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate, “Given the scale of trauma caused by the genocide, Rwanda has indicated that however thin the hope of a community can be, a hero always emerges.
Although no one can dare claim that it is now a perfect state, and that no more work is needed, Rwanda has risen from the ashes as a model of truth and reconciliation.”
(The author is an internationally reputed senior lawyer practising in the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts and Tribunals in India. He is an avid debater, public speaker, writer, broadcaster, telecaster, artist, painter, sculptor, music critic and filmmaker)