On 13th December 2009 the honourable governor of West Bengal, Mr. Gopalkrishna Gandhi and his wife, Mrs. Tara Gandhi organized a farewell reception at Raj Bhavan, Kolkata. West Bengal is the fourth largest state in India with a population of over eighty million. The grandson of the 'Father of the Nation', Mahatma Gandhi, Gopalkrishna Gandhi became the governor of West Bengal in the year 2004. According to the press release sent by the Armenian College of Kolkata, many state dignitaries, politicians, diplomats and leaders of the minority communities were present at the event. Very Reverend Father Khoren Hovhannisyan, pastor of the Armenians in India and manager of the Armenian College & Philanthropic Academy was among the distinguished guests. On behalf of the Armenian community, Father Khoren thanked the governor for his kind attention towards the Indian Armenians during his tenure in office and wished him success in the future. Gopalkrishna Gandhi in turn thanked Father Hovhannisyan for attending the reception. The governor hoped that the Armenian churches would forever continue to thrive in India.