Hundreds of Kiwi-Indian community members came together to jointly celebrate India’s 74th Republic Day at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre on Sunday (January 22, 2023), four days ahead of the actual R-Day (26 January), which falls on a weekday.
The event was graced by the attendance of dignitaries such as former Governor-General of New Zealand, Anand Satyanand; ACT Party leader David Seymour; National MP Melissa Lee; President of the New Zealand Indian Central Association (NZICA) Narendra Bhana; Chairperson of Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust, Jeet Suchdev and former National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, among many community leaders.
The proceedings of the event began with the VIPs hoisting the tricolour, followed by the singing of the national anthem in the presence of hundreds of attendees.
As it was the labour party caucus meeting to elect its new leader and NZ prime minister on Sunday, none of the Labour Party MPs was in attendance as was expected.
Bhav Dhillon, the Hon Consul of India in Auckland, who was also unable to attend the event, conveyed his Republic Day wishes to the wider community through Mr Bhana, during his speech.
The event saw the dignitaries’ giving speeches and congratulating the Indian diaspora on Republic Day. They also spoke of the great potential that lies ahead of Kiwi Indians and the need for the Kiwi Indian diaspora to come together more often as a community, especially to celebrate our national days.
Seymour said, “Happy 74th Indian Republic Day. While democracy and the rule of law have been in retreat worldwide, India, now the world's most populous country, is a beacon of light. On Thursday, India will celebrate 74 years as a republic going from strength to strength and Congratulate everyone for the same.”
Lee, who is National Party’s spokesperson for Ethnic Communities, spoke of the importance of ethnic diversity in NZ and acknowledged the valuable contribution the community continues to make to NZ.
Other known leaders of the community who were present at the event included the Honorary Consul of Nepal, Dinesh Khadka; New Zealand Telugu Association’s President, Suneel Kuncha; President of Waitakere Indian Association, Sunil Kaushal and chairman of the Dairy and Business Owners Group Sunny Kaushal among others.
The guests were entertained by various cultural performances that brought India's rich heritage and culture alive on stage. While there were musical singing performances by names such as Vidya Teke and Gopal Bhatia, there were also fantastic dance performances covering the culture of the Indian states, such as Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand, to name a few.
Guests, too, shared their happiness about being part of the celebration.
Sunil Kaushal said, “As India celebrates its 74th Republic Day on January 26, I joined hundreds of Kiwis of Indian origin in Auckland to celebrate friendship, culture and performances, and it was a great feeling.”
One of the guests, Rajeeva Moturu, took to social media saying, “I attended Republic day celebrations at Mahatma Gandhi centre. It was great to see some very nice performances by different cultures.”
The event concluded with guests relishing a delicious lunch.
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