India Parade Held at CA State Capitol

India-West Staff Reporter

SACRAMENTO, CA – About 3,000 people from the Greater Sacramento area and further away in CA, attended and participated in the Indian Independence Day celebrations organized by the Indian Association of Sacramento on August 20.

As part of the celebrations, the Indian tricolor was unfurled to great cheers in the lawn area in front of the California State Capitol and over 40 cars decorated with Indian and US flags took part in a parade driving through Sacramento downtown and rallying around the State Capitol.

Many came dressed in traditional Indian clothes and wearing masks, waving Indian and American flags and raising slogans of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Vande Mataram’, and ‘Jai Hind’.  The Indian national anthem was sung by the entire crowd.

On August 21, a press release said, thousands again gathered at California State University, Sacramento where a cultural performance that ran for six hours was presented. Rajesh N Naik, Deputy Consul General of India, San Francisco, headlined the event and greeted the community and spoke of Indo-US ties and the role of the diaspora in the coming years. In attendance were several public officials including CA State Assemblyman Ken Cooley and elected officials from Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove, Rocklin, and Folsom City, among others.

IAS recognized eight youth members, aged 21 or under – Neil Nayyar, Avanti Ramraj, Armaan Khan, Pranav Bollapragada, Samyukta Sudheer, Kristen Jacob, Medhansh T Pattani, and Diya Iyer – and the ‘Young Achiever Award’ certificates were presented to them by Naik and Cooley.

Since its inception in 2005 IAS has raised over $230,000 to support several non-profits. During the pandemic it raised $12,000 in funds and assisted needy people living in Greater Sacramento with face masks, meals, groceries, and medical and school supplies.

For more information: http://www.iassac.org