India's Republic Day celebrated in UAE

India's 71st Republic Day was celebrated in the UAE on Sunday with a host of cultural, patriotic events organised by the country's missions attended by hundreds of Indian expatriates.

Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor hoisted the national flag at the embassy premises in Abu Dhabi, followed by singing of the National Anthem.

"Flag hoisting by Ambassador Pavan Kapoor at the Embassy on the occasion of 71st #RepublicDay2020. Over 350 members of the Indian community attended the flag hoisting ceremony. The spirit of patriotism was high," the embassy said in a Tweet along with photographs of the celebrations.

Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul hoisted the flag at the Indian Consulate in Dubai.

"First Republic Day of India was celebrated in Indian Consulate Dubai with a large number of Indian diaspora. CG Vipul @vipulifs unfurled the tricolour and read out President's message," the Indian Consulate in Dubai tweeted.

Both the heads of the missions read President Ram Nath Kovind's address on the occasion. Hundreds of expatriate Indians attended the celebrations waving flags and sporting Tricolour attires.

Speaking to Gulf News, Rajasthani singer Amjad Khan, who sang a patriotic song during the celebrations in Dubai, said: "I don't think we can celebrate our national days in such grandeur in many other countries. This is possible here because of our relations with the UAE.

"We love India and the UAE and I want to see the kind of harmony and tolerance that is there in the UAE in India."

Raj Sharma, who is visiting Dubai, said patriotic events on foreign soil was special.

"This brought back a lot of memories of us organising the Republic Day celebrations in our school back in India," Sharma told Gulf News.

Republic Day events were also held at Indian schools and associations in the UAE.