Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
The Consulate General of India, San Francisco celebrated the 74th Independence Day of India on Saturday, 15 August 2020. The official Flag hoisting ceremony was held at the iconic Gadar Memorial, San Francisco with the participation of the Indian-American community and friends of India joining in the virtual celebrations due to COVID-19. Consul General Ambassador Dr Nagendra Prasad unfurled the flag, which was preceded by the playing of the Indian national anthem. The Consul General then read out the address of the President of India Ram Nath Kovind, as is the tradition at Indian consulates around the world.
Addressing the country, President Kovind said that the celebrations of Independence Day this year will be rather restrained. “The reason is obvious. The whole world confronts a deadly virus, which has disrupted all activities and taken a huge toll. It has altered the world we lived in before the pandemic,” President Kovind said.
Addressing the members of the Indian diaspora, CG Prasad congratulated them for their contributions towards bringing the US and India closer strategically. India’s self-reliance means being able to be self-sufficient, not alienating or creating distance from the world. It also means that India will also be involved in the global market system and will retain its special identity.
The government has given livelihood to crores of people by launching ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana’, to reduce the pain of losing jobs due to the epidemic, moving from one place to another and disrupting life, read CG Dr. Prasad, from the President’s speech.
Due to the current pandemic caused by COVID-19, the event was telecast live through the Consulate’s social media platforms. The event was viewed virtually by around thousands all across the West Coast. The cultural programme was also conducted in a virtual format. The program included singing of patriotic songs and poetry recitation by Subhashini Gunapu and team, kuchipudi dance performance by Bhavana Reddy and mohiniattam by Ridhima Prasanth.
In addition, Consul General attended the flag hoisting ceremony organized by the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) at Fremont. Apart from these celebrations, Consul General also shared his good wishes via video messages with other organizations that held functions on the occasion.
To mark the special occasion, the iconic City Hall in SanFrancisco, Empire State Building in New York, Burj Khalifa in Dubai and popular tourist destination, Niagara Falls in Toronto among others were illuminated with colors of the Indian flag.
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