Long Island, NY Community Celebrates India’s Independence

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The Indian American community gathered in the hundreds Aug. 9, for a parade and cultural program in Hicksville, Long Island to celebrate the  72nd anniversary of India’s independence.

Founding leaders of India Day Parade USA including  Bobby K. Kalotee, Indu Jaiswal, Mohinder Taneja, Kamlesh Mehta, President of IDPUSA Beena Kothari, businessman Vimal Goyal along with other community leaders, such as past-President Peter Bheddah, American Indian Forum, trustees and board members were among the crowd.

Joe Saladino, supervisor of Town of Oyster Bay, and several other county officials also attended. Nair Devadasan, consul for community affairs at the Indian Consulate in New York, addressed the crowd, thanking the organizers, sponsors and attendees for honoring India’s independence with the parade.

“As diversified and Secular India is, this parade is attended each year by diversified and secular community leaders regardless of nationality and religion,” Devadasan is quoted saying in a press release.

Orange, white and green balloons, colors of India’s flag, flew in the air at the parade which featured dancers, elected officials and others, as it passed by  several residents.

The parade marked the close ties between U.S. and India. National anthems of both countries were sung

The parade’s grand sponsor Mr. Peter Beddah, HAB Bank, Indus American Bank, Patel Brothers, Curry Club from Stony Brook and many more sponsors and volunteers. At the event, IDP honored Indian American community members Andy Mansukhani, Rajeev Chaudhary, Roopam Maini, Rizwan Qureshi,Simran Katyal, Nitin Ajmera, Shalu Chopra, Sanjay Patel, Rajni Gandhi, Krishnashree Gandgam.

“Our main goal is to bring all communities and cultures together under one umbrella,” organizers said in the press release.