Remembering the home country on Republic Day
MALAVIKA SANTHEBENNUR attends Sydney celebration
The 62nd Indian Republic Day was celebrated with grandeur this year at the home of the Consul General of India (Sydney) Amit Dasgupta.
The festivities began at 9 o’clock sharp, with the flag hoisting getting a round of applause from the guests. The Consul General hoisted the national tricolour and led the gathering in the singing of India’s national anthem. There was a special vibe running through the 500-strong crowd, as the guests sang Jana Gana Mana with pride.
Mr. Dasgupta then read out the message of the President of India Pratibha Patil, to the nation on the occasion. The president has called for changes to deal with corruption in order for development and good governance to take place. She also pointed to terrorism and labelled it ‘the single most detrimental threat to the progress of humankind’, and pledged India’s commitment to combat this threat as part of its role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Highlighting the need for programs for women, the youth, girls, marginalised sections of society and people with disabilities, she stressed that opportunities need to be made available to them to allow them to flourish to their fullest.
The President also made note of the recurrent interruptions to Parliament proceedings, which could impinge on people’s faith in democratic institutions.
About the Consulate General in Sydney Mr. Dasgupta reassured everyone that it hopes to achieve more in 2011 than it did in 2010. He also paused to remember the victims of the devastating Queensland floods with the reconstruction of the economy and lost homes.
“It is tragedy that brings people together on the strength of humanity and, I would say, brotherhood,” he said.
Mr. Dasgupta hoped that the youth in the Indian community would continue to participate in events of significance to their mother country.
“I hope they don’t lose links with their mother country. I hope they don’t forget that Indianness is something that they can take with them wherever they are, irrespective of whether they have a passport of another country; it’s something integral to them and they should take that with a sense of pride and dignity.”
For Padmanabhan Karamil, President of the Sydney Malayalee Association, who was present at the occasion, the Indian national anthem brings back special memories of the homeland.
“It’s very nostalgic,” he said. “And it made me very, very thrilled to sing it here today”.
United Indian Associations President Aruna Chandrala, noted that for ex-pat Indians here, celebrating Republic Day in Australia also meant celebrating Australia Day. While the former is a celebration of the motherland, the latter is a celebration of the adopted land and this is the opportunity to give thanks to this adopted land, she said.
