Indian expatriates celebrate Republic Day with patriotic spirit
- 27 Jan 2025
Raghib Hassan, Staff Reporter
The Consulate General of India in Dubai celebrated 76th Republic Day on Sunday morning at the Consulate auditorium. Thousands of members, dignitaries and guests graced the event. Such was the passion of Indian communities that they reached at the event much before the actual time while bracing the cold weather.
The Consul General of India in Dubai, Satish Kumar Sivan, unfurled the Indian flag as the national anthem spread the fragrance of patriotism all around the atmosphere and made everyone nostalgic.
Sivan also read out excerpts from the Republic Day message of the Indian President Droupadi Murmu. He also interacted with Indian communities and inspired them with his speech. He appreciated Indian communities and their unwavering support.
The Consul General started his speech by honouring the leaders, patriots, visionaries, and freedom fighters who established the groundwork for our republic on this historic day in 1950 and cleared the path for the country’s progress. He said, “Today, we are the fifth largest economy and soon to be the third largest, achieving such rapid progress against global economic trends.
Our growth has been inclusive and broad-based, carrying all sections of society along. While I have enough data points on India’s phenomenal growth that make us happy and proud, I believe that the one factor that has been critical in India’s rise on the global stage is the strength and contributions of the Indian diaspora.”
Further he added, “We must rededicate to preserving our nation’s values as we commemorate them today. India’s path is not only about its accomplishments but also about its goals—a never-ending pursuit of freedom, equal opportunity, and dignity in life and vocation for every citizen.”
Praising Indian communities, he said, “Here in the Emirates, we have a strong community of nearly 4 million Indian nationals who have been the pillar in the India-UAE bilateral partnership. Through your hard work and dedication, you have earned the admiration and respect of the local Emirati population which is generating immense goodwill for our country. The community in UAE is the second largest contributor to the Foreign Exchange Remittances into India which touched a record 125 billion dollars last year.”
Praising Indians for their untiring efforts during the amnesty period, he said, “I wish to acknowledge Muzaffer of AIM India Forum, volunteers of Indian People’s Forum, KMCC, Friends of India, BAPS Hindu Temple, Jain Social Group for the selfless act of volunteering.
I also recognize the valuable material support given by Hindu Mandir, Jebel Ali, Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara, IMAN Culture Centre. When the Amnesty started, many angels in the community immediately pledged unconditional support to the Consulate in helping those not so privileged members of our community. As a result, the Amnesty became a lifeline bringing smiles and tears of joy to families who reunited after several decades in many cases.”
Another important labour welfare initiative that the Consulate is planning to roll out in partnership with KMCC this year is the Cyber Awareness and digital literacy sessions for Indian workers. Sharing his thought about that he said, “We hope that it will be an important step towards preventing the labour community falling victim to cyber frauds and also gain critical life skills in the process. We hope to push Indian workers up the value chain being cognizant of the huge capabilities that they possess.”
Meanwhile, Dubai-based Indian singer Khushwant Singh with his students mesmerized audience with patriotic songs. Audience were spellbound completely and they felt transported to a different world. Another highlight of the cultural event was performance by Bharatanatyam dancer Meenakshi Murali. She enchanted the audience with her moves. The event reached to its pinnacle with the performance of Sharjah Indian School students’ performance. They paid very touching tribute to Indian soldiers and Indian farmers with their musical and dance performances.