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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline AUGUST 23, 2024 | The Indian Eye 20

Connecticut General Assembly Honors India and

Indian Americans at India’s 77th Anniversary

OUR BUREAU

Stamford, CT
elebrations have already start-
ed in the US cities to honor
CIndia for its 77th Anniversary
of Independence, being organized by
the 4.5 million strong Indian Amer-
ican community. The Connecticut
Chapter of the Global Organization
(GOPIO-CT) had a highly successful
celebration on August 11th with flag
hoisting at the Stamford Government Indian Consul Pragya Singh, Darien First Selectman Jon Jon Zagrodzky and CT Representatives Matt Blumenthal and Rachel Khanna along with
Center, a ceremony with elected Con- GOPIO officials at the flag hoisting ceremony
necticut officials and dignitaries. The
celebrations, with a colorful festival, traditional Indian attire, with melo- community in the state of Connecticut Indian Consul Pragya Singh who
then continued at the Mill River Park dious music from the popular Bol- and New York’s Westchester County. is the Consul for Visa and Communi-
in Stamford. lywood world, dances depicting the The celebration had a combi- ty Affairs at the Indian Consulate was
A floating crowd of over 2,000 wide variety of Indian culture, kite fly- nation of everything that one would the honored guest. In her address, she
people attended flag hoisting at 11.30 ing, spicy Indian cuisine, and booths want, catering to the diverse needs of highlighted the accomplishments and
am followed by the India Festival and decorated with Indian symbols and the attendees ranging from a toddler contributions of the Diaspora. “I’m
Kite flying at the Mill River Park from face art, the festivities were a treat to seniors. Over 20 performances by very proud to say that the numbers
12Noon to 4pm. Dressed in colorful to the fast-growing Indian American over 100 performers were presented prove that you have broken many bar-
at cultural programs. riers to become one of the most suc-
The day-long celebrations began cessful immigrant groups in the US.
with the hoisting of the American Indian Americans comprise only 1%
and Indian flags at the Stamford Gov- of the US population, but across all
ernment Center by Darien First Se- the sectors, you pay 5 to 6% of income
lectman Darien First Selectman Jon tax. You lead 16 of the Fortune 500
Zagrodzky, Rep. Matt Blumenthal companies, which collectively employ
(Stamford/Darien) and Rachel Khan- 7 million Americans and generate
na (Greenwich/Stamford) and Indian nearly 1 trillion USD in revenue.”
Consul Pragya Singh. American and Half a dozen elected officials from
Indian national anthems were sung Connecticut spoke and lauded the
students of Stamford’s Hindi School. contributions of the Indian Diaspora
The program then continued to locally and nationally, and praised the
the adjacent Mill River Park with an strong values that govern the strategic
Independence Day Ceremony which relationship between India and the
was addressed by Indian Consul Prag- US. They included Darien First Se-
ya Singh and several CT state officials. lectman Jon Zagrodzky, CT State Sen-
The ceremony was started by the pro- ator Ryan Fazio (Senate 36th District,
gram Chair Sushanth Krishnamurthy Greenwich/Stamford/New Canaan),
and program co-chair Sonali Gannu CT Senator Patricia Billie Miller (Sen-
served as the MC who introduced GO- ate 27th District Stamford/Darien),
PIO-CT President Dr. Jaya Daptardar. and State Representatives Matt Blu-
In her presidential address, Dr. menthal (147th District, Stamford/
Jaya Daptardar described the mis- Darien), Anabel Figueroa (148th Dis-
sion and vision of GOPIO-CT under trict, Stamford) and Rachel Khanna
her leadership. “Our mission at GO- (149th Greenwich/Stamford). The
PIO-CT is to be active participants elected officials were introduced GO-
in the local community through PIO Chairman and Advisor/Trustee to
THE FOUR PEOPLE LIVING ABOVE THIS STORE involvement in community events GOPIO-CT Dr. Thomas ‘Abraham.
KILLED BY THIS LITHIUM-ION BATTERY FIRE and local politics, and by providing Connecticut General Assembly
DIDN’T EVEN OWN A BATTERY. services to the Indian community issued a citation honoring the India
Day Celebration and presented it to
at large here in Connecticut. This
Learn how
to stay safe lofty goal of providing services and GOPIO-CT. The citation introduced
a political voice to the local Indian by Rep. Blumenthal (147th Dist.
population has evolved into an ex- Stamford/Darien) and supported by
fdnysmart.org emplary community service organi- 14 other CT Representatives and Sen-
zation thanks to the tremendous sup- ators congratulated GOPIO-CT for
port of our local Indian community.” celebrating India’s 77th Anniversary.

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