Indian Diaspora celebrates 75th Republic Day in Texas with pride

Houston, Jan 27 (PTI) Showcasing cultural diversity and pride, dressed in their best vibrant ethnic outfits, Indian Americans on Friday celebrated India's achievements and aspirations at the 75th Republic Day here at various events.

Despite heavy rains, they flaunted their heritage and commitment to building a stronger and more prosperous India with their enthusiasm and patriotic fervour.

Consul General of India, D C Manjunath, at a Facebook live event Friday morning, unfurled the national flag and addressed the community to convey the speech of Indian President Droupadi Murmu.

In another well-attended event at the India House early noon, he unfurled the Indian flag amongst a huge gathering of Indian Americans and interacted with them.

In the evening, the Consul General organised a reception to commemorate the Republic Day, which saw the attendance of various dignitaries from Texas and adjoining states, including elected officials, business leaders and professionals from a range of areas, and members of the Indian expatriate community.

At the power-packed evening attended by over 300 guests, the elected officials, some of them dressed in Indian attire, spoke highly of India and its strategic alliance with the USA, especially Houston and its model Indian American community.

Manjunath said, “With democracy as the core value, both India and the US are natural partners. There is immense potential for the strategic partnership to further surge ahead for mutual benefit and the benefit of humanity.” Commending the contributions and role of Indian Americans in bilateral relations, Manjunath said, “Texas has the second largest growing and vibrant Indian American diaspora, our strong pillar in strengthening India-US ties by acting as a bridge to facilitate the flow of resources, technology, and best practices.” Highlighting growing relations between India and Texas, he said, “As per the latest CII report, Texas is the US state with the largest investments by Indian companies close to USD 9.5 billion.” The elected officials present at the event were Fort Bend County Judge K P George, Harris County Commissioner Precinct 2, Adrian Garcia, Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers, Mayor of Sugarland, Joe R. Zimmerman, Missouri City Mayor Robin J. Elackatt, Stafford Mayor Ken Mathews, Regional Director State Department Katherine Ho, Chancellor and President of University of Houston, Renu Khator, NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams, among others.

Representatives of Senator John Cornyn and Congressman Al Green presented the proclamations to the Consul General for special congressional recognition.

Earlier, a major Republic Day event and Pran Pratishtha of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was celebrated on January 21 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana state.

Various other Republic Day celebrations, including the “Tiranga in space” event by the India Culture Centre, are scheduled throughout the weekend. PTI SHK NPK AKJ NPK NPK