The 75th Independence day of India
We had a successful event hosted by ILCC marking the 75th Independence day of India in Riga at “RISEBA” Architecture and media centre H2O 6 on the 18th August.
It was on August 15, 1947, that India was freed from British colonialism by gaining independence.
Latvia has declared independence twice in its history, in 1920 and in 1990.
The first time freedom was taken away was in 1940 by communist aggressors, and we were forced to join the Soviet Union.
The second time the Latvian nation had the freedom to choose which union to join. And we have joined European Union.
ILCC (Indo-Latvian Chamber of Commerce) for all these years is trying to create another union:
Cultural and Economic collaboration with India. And in this freedom spirit, we are continuously working on strengthening the friendship bond between Latvia and India.
We celebrate freedom! We celebrate India’s Independence!
This year’s India Independence Day celebration was honored by the presence and speeches of :
- Ambassador Tanmaya Lal
- Hon. Members of Parliament (Saeima)
- Ms Samija Serifa, Director of the Second Bilateral Relations Department of the Latvia Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Latvian friends & Indian community members
- Gaļina Zilgalve, RISEBA Head of External Relations
Dignitaries were honored to commence the celebration by lighting the lamp. The unfurling of the Indian flag was done by children, which was followed by the national anthem.
The event was embellished by classical and Bollywood dances. The classical music performance on Sarod by Sergey Ansupovs (Akash) group was fantastic and utterly enjoyable. We played a short video on India provided by the Embassy.
The last part of the event allowed all participants to enjoy the delicious Indian cuisine by Singh’s restaurant. It was nice to mingle with the participants after a long time.
We are immensely grateful to H. E. Ambassador Tanmaya Lal and the Embassy staff. We hope to see many events glorifying India and promoting business and Indian culture unfolding in Riga as a result of cooperation between ILCC and the Embassy.
Last but not least, ILCC had sponsored a special meal, including sweets, for needy people on this special occasion of Independence day of India. The special meal was distributed under the Food for Life program run by ISCON, Riga.
Concluding quote:
“We have believed,
and we do believe now,
that freedom is indivisible,
that peace is indivisible,
that economic prosperity is indivisible.”
Indira Gandhi
To see all the pictures from the event, click here