New Delhi, July 8 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled the historic rescue of Indonesian leaders by former Odisha Chief Minister Biju Patnaik and praised former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's role in supporting the South-East Asian country's independence.

Modi, who became the first Indian prime minister to address the Indonesian parliament on Tuesday, recalled how New Delhi became a strong voice for Jakarta's independence movement at the United Nations.

"There is so much that our ancestors experienced together. Both our nations endured long periods of foreign rule. We gained our independence at almost the same time, Indonesia in 1945 and India in 1947," Modi told the Indonesian parliament.

In July 1947, Nehru, yet to officially ...