Celebration of  the 77th Independence Day of India 

Press Release

The Consulate General of India in Shanghai celebrated the 77th Independence Day of India with great zeal, enthusiasm and patriotic fervour on 15th August, 2023. The celebration witnessed an overwhelming participation of India Diaspora in Eastern China Region, Indian students studying in Chinese Universities and friends of India in China.

 Celebrations started with paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi. Consul General Dr. N. Nandakumar and other officials of the Consulate paid floral tribute to the bust of Mahatma Gandhi located at the Chancery.

To mark the occasion, a flag hoisting ceremony was organised at the Chancery plot located at Wanshan Road. Dr. N. Nandakumar, Consul General of India unfurled the National Flag. The National Anthem was then sung in unison by the all the participants. After the National Anthem, the Consul General read out the address of Smt. Droupadi Murmu, Hon’ble President of India, delivered to the nation on the eve of the Independence Day. In her address, Hon’ble President had called for performing our fundamental duty to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement. She also extended her warm Independence Day wishes to members of Indian diaspora living in every part of the world.

On the occasion, members of Indian community presented colourful cultural performances. The performances included melodious Piano performances by Mst. Kavish Jain (SujalamSufalam) and Mst. N. Naghul Srinivas (National Anthem),  dance performance by Ms. Suhana Jain (mashup), singing performance by Ms. Saanvika Thota (Janani, Priya Bharath Janani from the movie RRR),  Kathak dance performance by Ms. Nandini Chaturvedi, Ms. Dimayra Patel & Ms. Durva Vadgama, recitation of the story of an unsung hero: Rani Gaidinliu by Mst. Ekansh Bahl and a narration of ‘India of my dreams’ by Ms. Suhana Jain.

As part of the “My Flag, My Pride” campaign a large model of the national flag was kept at the Consulate premises for Indian community members to colour it. The completed tricolour was displayed at the Chancery premises. Community members were encouraged to click pictures with the completed tricolour as part of “Har Ghar Tiranga” campaign. As mentioned above as part of Meri “Matti Mera Desh” campaign, a child from the Indian community narrated the story of Rani Gaidinliu to the gathered audiences.

 A painting competition was also conducted as part of celebrations of the 77th Independence Day. Winners of the painting competition and the participants were felicitated by the Consul General with prizes and certificates. These pairings were also displayed during the flag unfurling ceremony. An essay competition  on “India of my dreams” was also conducted wherein children of the Indian community members participated enthusiastically. The author of the winning essay was given an opportunity to narrate her essay during the celebration.

The Independence Day Celebrations in Shanghai was a memorable occasion and will be cherished by all participants. Mr. Aditya D. Prabhudesai hosted the programme as the master of the ceremony.