The Consulate General of India, New York celebrates India’s 61st  Republic Day

The Consulate General of India, New York hosted a reception on January 26, 2010 at New India House to celebrate the 61th Republic Day of India. The celebrations began with the reading of the President of India’s address to the Nation by the Deputy Consul General.

Over 300 guests attended the event. Present for the occasion were notably- New Jersey Assembly Speaker Sheila Y Oliver, Assembly Deputy Speaker Upendra J. Chivukula, Assembly Majority Whip John F. McKeon, Senate Minority Leader Thomas H Kean Jr., Assembly Deputy Speaker Linda R. Greenstein, New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher and others including the Democratic Chairman and District Attorney of Rockland County, Mr. Virendra Gupta Director General of ICCR and Mr. Vijay Nambiar Chef de Cabinet (Chief of Staff) to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon of the United Nations. These dignitaries also spoke briefly to the guests present on the occasion and congratulated all on the Republic Day of the nation.

Consul General of India Mr. Prabhu Dayal welcomed the guests and congratulated all Indian Americans, Americans and friends of India on the country’s Republic Day. He noted that the Indian American community which has achieved outstanding success in the areas of medicine, engineering, architecture, academics, culture, literature, journalism, information technology, politics, banking and finance. While becoming patriotic citizens of the United States, American Indians have retained India in their hearts, thus serving as a great bridge of understanding between the two great nations.

On this auspicious occasion, the Consul General felicitated Dr. Sudhir Parikh, Prof. Sheldon Pollock and Prof. Ponisseril Somasundaran for being awarded Padma Shri and Mr. Upendra Chivukula for the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, 2010.

The event concluded with a dinner reception. The evening was celebrated with joy and festivity and enjoyed by all.

January 26, 2010
New York