Victoria (Seychelles), June 28: “The String of Pearls”, a group of 92 islands of Seychelles in the western Indian Ocean will take its rightful place in the comity of nations when it attains independence to-morrow after centuries of French and British Colonial domination.A new chapter will unfold in the lives of 68,000 Seychellois people when the President, Mr. James R. Mancham, will raise the flag of the world’s youngest nation at a colourful ceremony in Victoria, marking yet another great victory for a member of the third world.Delegations from all parts of the world have gathered in picturesque Victoria, capital of Seychelles, to represent their respective nations on this historic occasion.India is represented by the Minister of State for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Mr. Surendra Pal Singh, and the Indian High Commissioner to Kenya, Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh.The Seychelles archipelago has a land area of only 279 sq.km but stretches across 3,88,000 sq. km. The climate in the islands, despite their proximity to the equator, is equable.Although the islands were probably known to seafarers as early as 916, they remained uninhabited for several centuries. The establishment of the first French colony in 1770 brought Seychelles in the path of Anglo-French rivalry in the Indian Ocean. After no fewer than seven capitulations to the British, the period of French rule finally ended in 1814 when Seychelles became a dependency of the British colony of Mauritius. Published - June 29, 2026 02:22 am IST