Tri-state FIA, Indian Consulate, celebrate International Women’s Day

- ADVERTISEMENT -

The Federation of Indian Association and the Indian Consulate celebrated the International Women’s Day at the Indian Consulate in New York as part of the ongoing Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav celebrating 75 years of Indian Independence. The Indian Consulate and FIA honored six women who have prominently contributed in different fields.

The awardees included Dipti Vaid Dedhia– first Indian-American Municipal Court Judge in New Jersey; Sejal Lakhani Bhatt CEO of TechWerxe; Seema Kumar community activist; Chaya Pamula, entrepreneur and philanthropist; Allison Hauser – trailblazer, and former director of Girls on the Run NYC; and Priyanka Bhrambhat, founder of Beehively Group and former director and group strategist of Bankkai Group.

The event was attended by Consul General Randhir Jaiswal, Deputy Consul General Dr. Varun Jeph, FIA President Kenny Desai, FIA Chairman Ankur Vaidya, FIA Vice President Saurin Parikh, FIA  Past President Srujal Parikh, FIA Jt. Secretary  Smita Miki Patel and FIA’s Rohi Singh amongst others.

Padma Shri recipient Dr. Sudhir Parikh, chairman of Parikh Worldwide Media and ITV Gold also attended and addressed the gathering as did a number of other speakers.

Consular General Jaiswal noted how women’s empowerment is now part and parcel of daily conversations and that the Indian Govt has launched several projects like Swachch Bharat, Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao, Ujjawal Yojna providing gas connections across the length and breadth of India, to help the women especially those in rural areas. These projects have brought about a tremendous change. He also noted that India has more than 60,000 Startups and 50 % of them have women Directors. In a lighter vein he mentioned that the Indian Consulate is a big example of Women Empowerment as 70 per cent of the staff are women.

Dr. Varun Jeph praised the ‘indomitable spirit’ and the achievements of Indian women who have made a mark in every field of endeavor be it science, technology, business, academics, space and have been instrumental  in shaping the future of not only India and United States but also the rest of the world.

Dr. Parikh, senior advisor to FIA, praised women in his family and everywhere a happy International Women’s Day. “What we are, how successful we are, all depends our mother figure, our sisters, and our family members, because they have …. so many good sanskars to instil in us.” He noted that India is “way ahead” of Western countries in terms of ‘honoring and respecting” women, quoting as examples having a woman Prime Minister many years ago, and women joining the medical profession in significant numbers.

Desai spoke about Naari Shakti and its inpact on culture for several centuries and praised the six awardees for making their  mark at the highest levels and contributing to the community at large.

Vaidya congratulated the awardees and thanked the Consul General for holding the event. He broadly outlined the important roles that the women play in shaping a person’s life.

Consul General Jaiswal and his wife Dr Abha Jaiswal presented the trophies to awardees, each of whom gave a speech at the event. (Pamula was unable to attend the function).