Minister Kapil Sibal joins Republic Day celebrations in Bay Area

FREMONT, CA: Federation of Indo-Americans Association on Sunday January 27 celebrated India’s Republic Day at Newark Pavilion. Dr Romesh Japra, eminent social activist of Bay Area, explained the significance of freedom and remembered the sacrifices made by our freedom fighters and national leaders, who gave us the whole new world to enjoy and explore.
Although India obtained its independence on August 15, 1947, it did not yet have a permanent constitution. The Republic Day of India commemorates January 26, 1950 as the date on which the Constitution of India came into force replacing the Government of India Act 1935 as the governing document of India. It is one of the most important days in Indian history. Dr Japra said we are fortunate to have been born in the largest democracy in the world, India and live in the oldest democracy of the world, United States.
It is apparent that the Indian community in the Bay area has not forgotten its roots. At the weekend, FIA organized an event to celebrate India’s 64th Republic Day in the Bay area. It is a proud moment for all Indians to celebrate and look at the achievement and growth which India has achieved in these 63 years of becoming a republic. India’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Kapil Sibal was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations. He was born in Jalandhar, Punjab and received his MA in history from St. Stephen College, Delhi and LL.M. from Harvard Law School, USA.
Mr Sibal addressed the gathering and spoke at length on how “freedom is different for different people and how it depends on where we live”. He said 1.2 billion people in India have the right to change their government every five years, but some still don’t have proper water and sanitation. “We are brothers and sisters and help each other in the development”, he said. He explained how the ICT (Information, communication and technology) revolution has impacted every Indian. India has a strategic partnership with United States and he thanked all the Indian-Americans who have supported their motherland. By 2020, the average age of an Indian would be 29 and this is the best asset which we have with India and we should make the best use of this opportunity.
Mr N. Parthasarathi, Consul General of India in San Francisco was the honorable guest for this grand event. He graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from Mysore University. He has worked in South Korea and Senegal.

He said the partnership of the Consulate with media, elected members and community was a grand success. He pointed out that the Consulate had zero backlog in passport cases. The Consulate provides around 800 visas everyday, which if applied for in the morning, can be delivered at the end of day. These achievements were possible only with the association of local bodies. He said Indo-American relationship is one of the most defining in the world.
The celebrations were attended by eminent dignitaries namely Congressmen Mike Honda, Congressman Eric Swalwell, Senator Corbett, Assembly member Bob Wieckowski, Council member Ash Kalra, Assembly member Bill Quirk, Supervisor Richard Valle, Supervisor Scott Haggerty, Mayor Bill Harrison, Supervisor Scott Haggerty, Vice Mayor Anu Natarajan, Lily Mei, Henry Hutchins, Vinnie Bacon, Maria Yee, Joe Johal, Pat Danielson, Anjali Lathi, Raj Salwan, Thomas Handley, Bryan Gebhardt, Teresa Cox, M.P.Singh and Jha. Mr Yogi Chugh introduced the dignitaries to the crowd and explained about celebrating democracy.
Certification of Democracy Awards were presented to Assembly member Bill Quirk, Alameda County Supervisor Richard Valle and Dharminder Dewan by Minister Kapil Sibal. Before being elected to the Assembly, Quirk worked as a climate change scientist at NASA. He has served as a leader for more than 30 years in many local organizations.
Richard is the President and CEO of Tri-CED Community Recycling. He is also a Trustee of St. Rose Hospital in Hayward. Richard was a founding member of the Materials for the Future Foundation of the Presidio, and was the first President of the Union City Police Activities League.
Dharminder Dewan was given the “Volunteer of Year” award for his outstanding work for the community.
The evening was made special by dancing and singing performance by Bay area’s tiny tots. Disciples of Indian-Fusion Dance Academy, Dance Karishma and Rhythm-N-Steps and the artists rocked the stage with their performances featuring different Indian cultures and values. The performances were choreographed by Selvi Pragasam, Director of Indian-fusion dance academy, Jaya Sharma, Dance Director of Dance Karishma and Sudha Mundhra Binani, Dance Director of Rhytm N Steps.
Dr Romesh Japra thanked the dignitaries, performers, sponsors and volunteers for making the evening a memorable one.
Key Point Credit Union, Apsara Clothing and Laura Adams, Psychic Healer were the sponsors of event. KeyPoint Credit Union products and services are designed to give you more for your money. And they’re conveniently accessible 24/7 from wherever you happen to be.

Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service