IAS India Independence Day Celebrations at California State Capitol Sacramento

Over three thousand Indian Americans from the Greater Sacramento area and further away in the California, United States of America, attended to witness the Indian Independence Day celebrations organized by the Indian Association of Sacramento (IAS).

On Aug 24th, 2024 at 10 AM, IAS started the India Day Celebrations at Sacramento to mark the 78th year of Indian Independence. The venue Hiram Johnson High School Theater at Sacramento has been decorated with Indian and US flags. The presence of Indian regional leaders & distinguished personnel, monuments, and cultural representation added glory to this event. The IAS supporting organizations’ members and Indian American community members local to Greater Sacramento and beyond have joined this India Day celebration on a large scale.

“This year’s Independence Day will mark a new chapter in IAS’s history, organizing India Day with three seminars, and celebrating India’s Independence Day with the in-person cultural event at Hiram School Theater – Sacramento,” organizers said. IAS Board of Trustee Chairman Dr. Bhavin Parikh said that with the demonstration of the tricolors at the Hiram School venue, India Day history was created for the 3rd time in a row after the pandemic.

A large number of people dressed in traditional Indian clothes joined the celebration at Hiram School theater. Waving the Indian and American flags, they shouted slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” “Vande Mataram,” and “Jai Hind.” IAS India’s 78th Independence Day Celebrations began with the crowd singing the Indian and American national anthems. Several attendees commented that it was indeed a proud and historic moment that IAS created for all.

IAS President Mr. Bhaskar Vempati reiterated it was a historic moment for the Indian community as the mega tricolor flag was demonstrated at the entrance of Hiram High School Entrance. “It is indeed a proud moment for all of us, when India turns 78, we should turn the page on partisan communities. Our goal is a unified community,” Mr. Vempati said. IAS Vice President Mrs. Selvi Janarthan said, “Today is the day to celebrate our outstanding achievements, great successes, our freedom struggle, all the sacrifices done by the leaders and also to chart out our future course of action”. “All guests were mesmerized by watching colorful rich Indian cultural performances for about 7 hours non-stop and congratulated the cultural show participants and choreographers,” said the IAS cultural lead Mr. Magesh Babu.

Mr. Chittireddy Sripal Reddy Consul from the San Francisco Indian Consulate attended India Day and conveyed his wishes to the audience on the occasion of the 78th India Independence Day. Many elected officials attended IAS India Day in person and wished the Sacramento Indian Community on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day. The guests of honor for this year’s IAS India Day include Padmasree Awardee Smt. Nazma  Akthar, Dr. Ami Bera – a member of the United States House of Representatives from California since 2013, Mr. Bruce Houdesheldt – Mayor of the City of Roseville, Ms. Bobbie Singh-Allen – Mayor of Elk Grove City, YK Chalamcharla Councilmember – City of Folsom and Ex. Vice Mayor Folsom City. District Attorney Mr.Thien Ho, Mr. Rich Desmond  – Sacramento County Supervisor, and Dave Tamayo – SMUD Board Member.

At 10 AM on India Day, IAS initiated three seminars in a row including – the “College Seminar”, “Curbing Anti-Bias & Cultivating Safety of Local Indian Diaspora”, and “Impact of Social Media on Emotional and Physical Health”. Several seminar attendees thanked IAS leaders and Volunteers for bringing in well-organized and informative seminars to the local Indian community. Several IAS India Day attendees congratulated IAS for conducting an India Day event to showcase a diversified Indian heritage with a wide variety of regional languages, colorful costumes, mesmerizing cultural dances, music, food, and more.

 In addition to the cultural activities, the IAS Sports Committee conducted Indoor/Outdoor Sports in the categories of Cricket, Chess, Badminton, Table Tennis, Carroms, Painting, Volleyball, and Throwball. IAS Sports Committee leads Anu Nandagopal and Jay Shrivastava have organized IAS Sports and awarded trophies to all the winners and runners.

Indian Association of Sacramento (IAS) also recognized the Greater Sacramento Youth Achievers who are either in their senior year or have recently graduated. Senior student Sindhu Vemulapalli received the “Diamond” category award, while others were honored with “Gold,” “Silver,” and “Recognition” awards.

For the year 2024, IAS announced Weave and Pardada Pardadi Education Society (PPES) will receive the charity funds. Weave – a local Sacramen-based charity has been supporting survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and sex trafficking. PPES has supported rural development in India through education, employment, and empowerment of girls and women by teaching them skills for a better future. Several audiences have reached out to IAS officers expressing their intent to help out both of these non-profit initiatives.

The India Day event is sponsored by the City of Sacramento through their Festival Grant, the other sponsors includes: SMUD, American Petroleum and Convenience Stores, APCA, Technet, Tri Counties Bank, Mount Vernon Memorial Park & Mortuary, Mantra Restaurant, Sanskrit – new age indian Restaurant, The Grand Indian Cuisine, Wacky Tacky, Avatar IT Solutions, Shankar Reddy Pathi – Realtor & Loan Officer, Nag Dondapati – Realtor, Reliance SuperMart, Bakery Bites Cakes & Chaat, Ruchi Indian Cuisine, Azimuth Financial Solutions, and Shashi Deveraju – Realtor. Over 50 vendors and non-profits set up their stalls at the venue promises. The audience have enjoyed the delicious food prepared and served by Ruchi Indian Cuisine, Curries & Biryanis, and Cold Stone.

Mr. Bhaskar Vempati thanked all IAS leaders including Executive Committee Members, Selvi Janarthana – Vice President, Amitab Shaik – Secretary, Bhavik Vyas – Treasurer and Siva Prasath Ponnusamy – Joint Secretary, and committee leads including Magesh Kumar and Asha Konda – Cultural Leads, Jagan Yachavarapu, and Venugopal Acharya – Vendor Leads, Venkat Nagam, Gowri Shankar Kowtha, and Ilan Shankar – PR Leads, John Britto – Venue Lead, Jay Shrivastava, Anu Nandagopal, Prashant Joshi and Shekhar Tiwari – Sports Leads,  Paresh Sinha – Parade Lead, Anupriya Ramraj – Seminars Lead, Hrishikesh Shende, and Puspa Venketshan – Charity Leads, other IAS board members, and volunteers for their tireless and selfless efforts, and for working round the clock to ensure the success of all the planned events in conjunction with IAS India Day this year.

IAS Secretary Mr. Amitab Shaik thanked distinguished guests for attending India Day, Vandna Sharma, Gobi Ramasamy, and Shivesh Sinha – Board of Trustees, and Venugopal Acharya, Satheesh Nagaraj, Anupriya Ramraj and Vijayabhaskar Jonnalagadda – Board of Advisors and everyone in the audience for supporting IAS’s traditional way of celebrating India Day.  In addition, IAS Vice-President  Ms. Selvi Janarthan thanked Yo India TV for their media coverage, Ganesh, Anil Dokula, Dr. Bhavin Parikh, and Kiran Cheedalla for capturing pictures, and Elite Events Sacramento for a beautiful photo booth.