Patriotic fervour grips Indians across globe on 69th I-Day

The tricolour fluttered proudly at Indian missions across the globe today with envoys hoisting it to the melodious strains of the national anthem as hundreds of Indians and friends of India gathered to celebrate the country's 69th Independence Day.

In Australia, hundreds of Indians converged at the iconic federation square building in Melbourne today to celebrate the Independence day and attend the flag hoisting ceremony.

The tricolour was unfurled by High Commissioner Navdeep Suri and Bollywood star Anil Kapoor in the presence of other VIPs, dignitaries and a huge crowd.

Speaking on the occasion, Suri said the unfurling of flag at the iconic federation square was a matter of great pride for Indians living in Australia.

Kapoor, who received a warm welcome, said: "this is a very emotional moment for us with the Indian flag flying at federation square."

In Bangkok, India's ambassador to Thailand Harsh Vardhan Shringla unfurled the national flag at the Indian mission. At least 750 Indians and ethnic Indian Thais attended the event as Shringla read out excerpts of the President's speech.

This was followed by singing of patriotic songs by the children of Modern International School of Bangkok and various Indian associations here. The national flag was unfurled across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by Indian envoys.

Hundreds of Indians thronged Indian missions in Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, The Philippines, Laos, Cambodia Indonesia to attend the ceremony. The number at the events was large at most places with today being a weekend holiday.
In Hanoi, Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Preeti Saran unfurled the tricolor. Around 300 people attended the event.

"This year's function had an unprecedented level of participation from the Indian community, partly because it was a weekend and because there are large groups of temporary workers from India at IBN, Microsoft/Nokia and other MNCs that recently moved to Hanoi," Saran told PTI.

In Tokyo, India's ambassador to Japan Deepa Wadhwa unfurled the flag at the Chancery premises. More than 500 Indian nationals attended the programme. Students from Indian International School in Japan, Global Indian International School in Japan and Tathva International School performed patriotic songs.

In Singapore, the Indian High Commission celebrated the Independence Day at the Chancery with an open house, hosting more than 1,000 Indians in the citu-state.
High Commissioner Vijay Singh Thakur read out the President's message while students from local Indian schools sang patriotic songs.

Indians from all walks of life and business community leaders attended the two-hour celebration. India's High Commission in Pakistan also celebrated the 69th Independence Day with national fervour in Islamabad.

The celebrations started with High Commissioner T C A Raghavan hoisting the national flag.

He also read out a message from President Pranab Mukherjee on the occasion. It was followed by a cultural programme that included patriotic songs by children. A painting competition among children of the staff of the high commission was also arranged. Different sports events were also part of the celebrations.

In Beijing, unfurling the tricolour amid a large gathering of expat community here to celebrate the Independence Day, Indian Ambassador Ashok K Kantha said China has become "potentially a key partner" in India's development as the relations made "dynamic progress".

Over 300 Indian professionals and their families working in Beijing joined the celebrations in which several Indian and Chinese artists staged colourful performances including classical dances like Bharatnatayam and Kathak.

Kantha who read out the President Mukherjee's speech also said India-China relations witnessed "dynamic progress on multiple fronts" with Beijing emerging as "potentially a key partner in pursuit of our national development goals". In Kathmandu, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae hoisted the national flag and read out president's address.

Rae presented 39 ambulances and eight buses to recipient organisations from 33 districts across Nepal amidst a function at the embassy.

India's Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya hoisted the country's flag at the India House in Cairo to mark the 69th Independence Day.

Members of the Indian community living in Egypt as well Egyptian friends of India attended the event and sang the national anthem as an annual tradition.

After hoisting the flag, the ambassador read out the president's message. In Herzliya, Israel, about 450 Indians from all over the country gathered to celebrate Independence Day, two days after the successful conclusion of the third national convention of Indian Jews in the Jewish state.

India's envoy Jaideep Sarkar, hoisted the national flag and read out excerpts of President Mukherjee's address calling upon the Indian community in Israel to help strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries.

A cultural programme followed the ceremony, including a Bhangra performance by the Indian contingent at UNDOF and songs by IPS officers undergoing training in Israel currently.

There are about 80,000 Jews of Indian origin living in Israel from four different communities - Bene Israel from Mumbai, Cochinis from Kerala, Baghdadis from Kolkata, and Bnei Menashe from Manipur and Mizoram.

"Indians Jews living in Israel take pride in their origin and feel strongly connected to their roots. There was no trace of anti-semitism in India and we tell this to the population here with a lot of pride" said Noah Massil, an Indian Jewish community leader here, who is also the editor of Maiboli journal in Marathi.