“I don’t want newcomers to face the same problems that I faced when I arrived here,” said Savri, one of the two students from Tajikistan who study in the university. The 28-year-old Linguistics student said he felt the initiative was very “helpful”.

It is not easy for a foreigner to integrate in the biggest university in India without any organised body to guide them, leaving aside the ICCR. “For example when I arrived, I was not informed at all that there were two hostels (one for men one for women) for international students within the campus,” Savri said.

Moelelwa, a 23-year-old South African student, is expecting a lot from this premier association. “I cam to India two and a half years ago with two friends. But they went back home as they felt abandoned here with nobody caring for them,” she recalled.

But this all set to change. According to the MoU signed with DUSU, the Foreign Students Association is “to promote the welfare of all foreign students and cultural interactions with the host students”. Forty-two countries are represented at DU, among them Nepal, Bhutan, Fiji Islands, Thailand,t Iran, Jordan, Iraq, Afghanistan and country from Sub-Saharan Africa Tanzania and South Africa.

“FSA is to be registrated as an independent students union by the next academic year and will be managed by two foreign secretaries,” Ilyas Noor, FSA secretary, said.

On their day in the limelight, representatives of a couple of countries warmly showcased their culture—from fashion shows to dances and songs. Dressed in exotic and colourful suits, the Mauritius nationals were as well appreciated as well as the dynamic traditional dance of the Indonesian students.