Shefali Tulip – Netherlands Names Flower After Ambassador

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – A tulip in the Netherlands has been named after Indian American diplomat Shefali Razdan Duggal, the US Ambassador to the country, for advocating for gender equity, as it celebrated International Women’s Day.

Tulipa Shefali comes from Maveridge International’s breeding program in St. Maarten and grew out of a years-long project for strong and healthy tulips, a press release said.

“It is a genuine and surreal honor to be included amongst such a remarkable group of individuals who have received this recognition. The tulip is a beautiful flower which has been cherished and loved for centuries and so positively represents the Kingdom of the Netherlands,” Razdan Duggal, 52, said.

“As the first Ambassador to receive the high honor of having a tulip named after me, it is so befitting to unveil the ‘Shefali Tulip’ today, on International Women’s Day,” she said, referring to the celebrations held on February 8.

Tulip breeding is a long-term endeavor. Accordingly, the origin of the Shefali tulip dates to 2009. One of the crosses in the project was “Tulipa Lucky Strike” with a strong cutting tulip.