The 71st Republic Day of India was celebrated at the Milton Lions Club on January 26, 2020 with much gaiety. The flag hoisting ceremony was held at 4:30 pm which was followed by singing of the Canadian and Indian National Anthem. The President of the Canadian Indian Association of Halton Region, Mr. Jag Mohan Mainra addressed the event and welcomed all dignitaries and guests. More than 400 guests attended the function, which had a wait list of 150 and counting!
To mark the Republic Day, the Council General of India in Toronto Mrs. Apoorva Shrivastava, MPP Mr. Parm Gill, representing Mayor of Milton we had Councillor Rick De Lorenzo, Regional Councillors Colin Best, and Mike Cluett and town councillors Kristina Tesser Derksen and Sameera Ali came to participate in the celebrations.
The Canadian Indian Association is a registered not-for- profit organization within Halton region to serve as a bridge between various Indian Cultural associations and groups in order to promote India’s cultural heritage, to unite our people by developing a better understanding of India’s diverse culture and to strengthen bi-lateral relations between India and Canada. The association welcomes all Indo-Canadians to join the association. More information can be found on the website, www.canadianindianassociation.com
Republic Day honours the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950. The Constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and came into effect on 26 January 1950 with a democratic government system, completing the country’s transition towards becoming an independent republic. 26 January was chosen as the Republic day because it was on this day in 1930 when Declaration of Indian Independence was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress.
The cultural programme included performance of the Ganesh Vandana, Bharatnatyam, Odiya fusion performance, garbha and Rajasthani dances and different Bollywood patriotic medleys performed by children of all ages. The showstopper was the Province wide depiction of India by children ages 4 to 12 years.
The venue echoed in the beautiful melody of the patriotic songs sung by Mr. Sanjay Rangnekar and Mrs. Aparna Rangnekar.
Light refreshments were served at the end of the programme. This event would not have been possible without our dedicated volunteers and the tireless efforts of the Board at CIA, to name a few Ms.Hassu Sthankiya, Mr. Nilesh Patel, Mr. Nik Thakkar, Mrs. Diksha Pal Narayan, Mrs. Shikha Dhingra, Mrs. Hetal Shah, and Mrs. Shona Sharma.