(Syed Mujeeb) On a bright sunny morning of Sunday 18th August 2013, the sun was shining in its full glory and a crowd of hundreds had gathered to watch the Indian Tri-colour to be unfurled by the Indian High Commissioner, Shri A.K Pandey; Bhartiya Samaj Charitable trust with Humm106.2FM and associated community organisations celebrated the 67th India Independence Day in the true spirit of pride and glory for India & people of Indian origin.
Over 3000 people had gathered to celebrate this momentous occasion with their friends and families in the heart of Auckland city at Aotea Square and The Civic. The event commenced with the ceremonial hoisting of the Indian Tri-colour flag by the Indian High Commissioner in the presence of several hundreds of community members and dignitaries at the Aotea Square.Flag hoisting ceremony was followed by singing ‘Jan Gan Man’ – the Indian National Anthem with a feeling of pride and respect for the world’s largest democracy – India. The National Anthem was followed by a congratulatory speech from the Minister of Ethnic Affairs, Hon Judith Collins and The Indian High Commissioner, Shri A K Pandey. The speeches were followed by a cultural parade of several community organisations from Auckland representing the diverse cultural mix of South Asia.
This was followed by Desi Dhol, which sent an adrenalin rush to everyone, to join in and shake a leg along the Bhangra beats. It was one the rare sights seeing so many dignitaries including the Minister of Ethnic Affairs, Hon Judith Collins, Mayor Len Brown, The Indian High Commissioner, the Race Relations Commissioner –Dame Susan Devoy, Leader of Labour – Hon David Shearer, several other Parliamentarians, Ward Councillors, Local Board Members and many community & business leaders, joining in the unstoppable dancing frenzy. Following this the celebration moved ahead to the cultural performances at the magnifi-cent theatre, The Civic. The cultural program was officially inaugurated with a short speech by the Chairperson of Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust, Mr. Jeet Suchdev QSM JP, highlighting the journey of the organisation and its recent achievement of acquiring a culturally appropriate rest home. Bhartiya Samaj and Humm 106.2FM had jointly worked to raise funds to support the relief operations for the Uttarakhand Flood Victims. A donation cheque of the total amount raised i.e NZD 10,360 was presented to the Indian High Commissioner, Shri A. K. Pandey by Roshila Prasad, Executive Director of Humm106.2FM and Roopa Suchdev, Vice Chairperson of Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust at the event.
The cultural program included some of the most brilliant and culturally diverse performances presented by different community groups from Auckland. These groups represent different cultures of South Asia. The entire crowd enjoyed this fiesta of exhilarating performances till the very end. The cultural program gave the audience a glimpse of Unity in Diversity and the rich cultural heritage of India and South Asia. The event hosted more than 3000 people and each one was treated in a traditional way by distributing ladoos, sponsored by Bank of India, NZ. We sincerely thank each one of the audience who joined in and celebrated this land-mark moment. This event will surely be remembered by the people of Auckland and those visiting Auckland for a very long time. We also thank all the participating organisations, performers, sponsors, volunteers and community at large who whole heartedly supported us to make this event a grand success. Last but not the least; we thank God for showering us with an incredible weather and joining us in our celebratory plan.