“The Indian Centre in Edmonton was packed with people celebrating Indian Independence Day. We hoisted the Indian Flag, sang the national anthem for India and Canada, enjoyed cultural performances, and many more fun stuff…,” Mary Thomas, Community Leader in Edmonton Indian Community.
Independence Day is annually celebrated on 15 August, as a national holiday in India commemorating the nation’s independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August, 1947, the UK Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act of 1947, transferring legislative sovereignty to the Indian Constituent Assembly.
India Independence coincided with the partition of India, in which division was along religious lines into the Dominions of India and Pakistan. On 15 August, 1947, the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, raised the Indian national flag above the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort in Delhi. On each subsequent Independence Day, the incumbent Prime Minister customarily raises the flag and gives an address to the nation, a national holiday observed throughout India with flag-hoisting ceremonies, parades, and cultural events.
The Indian community in Edmonton led by Council of India Societies of Edmonton also hoisted the Indian Flag, sang the national anthem for Indian and Canada and witnessed cultural performances as captured below by Mary Thomas, and Savita Patel.
