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    NORTH AMERICAN Newsline                                               AUGUST 28, 2026      |  The Indian Eye 22

             FIA Chicago Celebrates America’s 250th and India’s 80th

              Independence Day in a Historic Show Freedom and Unity

                              Landmark Schaumburg gathering brings together civic leaders,

                                  community members, culture, business and entertainment

            OUR BUREAU
            Chicago, IL
                  he  Federation  of  Indian  As-
                  sociations  (FIA)  –  Chicago
            Thosted  a  historic  celebration
            at the Renaissance Convention Cen-
            ter in Schaumburg, commemorating
            America’s 250th anniversary and In-
            dia’s 80th Independence Day. Under
            the leadership of Founder and Chair-
            man Sunil Shah and Presidents Altaf
            Bukhari and Richa Chand, the mile-
            stone event brought together more
            than  800  attendees  throughout  the
            day in a vibrant expression of free-
            dom, friendship, culture and commu-
            nity pride.                       The discussion highlighted the rapidly   Entire FIA Team Vinita Gulabani (Past President), Richa Chand (President), Neil Khot
                The  celebration  reflected  the   evolving role of artificial intelligence
            unique spirit of the Indian Ameri-  and its growing influence on business,       (Vice-Chairman), Sunil Shah (Founder Chairman), Team.
            can community—honoring its deep   innovation and society.
            connection to India’s heritage while   As a special tribute to India,
            proudly embracing the United States   “FIA’s  Got  Talent”  showcased  the
            as home. The program blended patri-  diverse talents of FIA members and
            otic moments, cultural presentations,   brought an entertaining community
            community recognition, business   spirit to the afternoon. The segment
            engagement and live entertainment,   concluded with the Fashion Show, led
            creating a memorable occasion cele-  by FIA Vice President Ajanta Taluk-
            brating two nations and two historic   dar,  in  which  FIA  members  walked
            milestones together.              the stage representing the vibrant tra-
                The daylong celebration was   ditions, attire and cultural diversity of
            presented in two distinct segments,   India’s states.
            beginning  with  the  Business  Expo.   A moving patriotic presentation
            The afternoon program opened with   by FIA’s talented singers Avni Singh,
            a spirited patriotic parade featuring   Jitendra Bulsara and Shivam Vish-
            members  of  the  FIA  team  proudly   wanathan,  accompanied  by  the  FIA
            waving Indian and American flags as   team, filled the ballroom with patrio-  Avni Singh (Director/Singer), Team, Rita Shah (First Lady), Sunil Shah (Founder Chairman),
            they marched from the entrance to   tism and emotion while paying tribute   Pinky Thakkar (Advisory Board), Richa Chand (President), Pratibha Jairath (Past President),
            the main stage. Founder and Chair-  to the freedom fighters whose sacri-
            man Sunil Shah, joined by Presidents   fices  made  independence  possible.   Neil Khot (Vice Chairman), Anu Malhotra (Past President), Vinita Gulabani (Past President).
            Altaf Bukhari and Richa Chand and   Cultural performances continued to
            the FIA leadership team, led the cer-  add color and energy throughout the   Congresswoman Mellisa Bean; Scha-  remarkable growth and community
            emonial flag hoisting, followed by the   evening, with presentations by Shirlz-  umburg Mayor Tom Dailly; Mayor   journey over the years. Presidents Al-
            national anthems of the United States   ar Dance Academy.           William Mcleod, State Representa-  taf Bukhari and Richa Chand empha-
            and India.                            The venue décor: FIA Past Pres-  tive Michelle Mussman, Aurora Al-  sized the forward-looking meaning
                Another major attraction of the   ident Vinita Gulabani, FIA Director   derwoman Shweta Baid along with   of the occasion: “Our Independence
            Business Expo was a thought-pro-  Ravi Tokala, and his team were in-  FIA Advisory Board member Keerthi   Day is not just about remembering the
            voking conference on Artificial Intel-  strumental in creating the beautiful   Ravoori,  and  FIA  First  Lady  Rita   past; it’s about celebrating the bonds
            ligence,  facilitated  by  FIA  Director   décor, which reflected the colors and   Shah. Their presence underscored the   we build today for a stronger tomor-
            and Naperville-based business owner   spirit of both nations.       important role of the Indian Ameri-  row.” Vice Chairman Neil Khot fur-
            Rajesh Narayan. The panel featured    The celebration was graced by   can community in the civic, cultural   ther reinforced the evening’s message
            NASA intern Neelay Ranjan, Califor-  Consul General Somnath Ghosh,   and public life of Chicagoland.  with remarks centered on patriotism,
            nia-based businessman and Phoenix-  Congressman  Raja  Krishnamoorthi,   FIA’s  past  presidents  Anu  Mal-  community  service  and  giving  back.
            AI.tech Co-founder Rajesh Rasalkar,   Chief Guest Darshan Singh Dhaliw-  hotra, Pratibha Jairath, Vinita Gula-  A major highlight of the evening
            FIA General Secretary Kamlesh Ka-  al, Guest of Honor Dr. Parag Doshi,   bani, Hitesh Gandhi and Dr. Kamal   was  FIA’s  recognition  of  sponsors,
            poor, and FIA Director Vijay Gupta.   State Senator Laura Murphy, future   Patel also shared reflections on FIA’s   Continued on next page... >>

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