The Federation of Indian Associations, Chicago that was established in 1980 will lead the India Day Parade, to be headlined by singer-turned politician Babul Supriyo, Aug. 20 and 21, marking the 70th Indian Independence Day.
The parade will begin from the corner of Devon and Western Avenues and disband at Devon and California Avenues with grand marshal Supriyo, who is now Union Minister of State for Urban Development.
A record number of people are expected to attend the parade with friends and families to watch colorful floats representing Chicago’s Indian-American community organizations, marching bands, music and dancing troops and Indian dholaks on the promenade down Mahatma Gandhi Marg.
The parade is expected to finish at 12:30 and will be followed by speeches from dignitaries and special guests on the parade stage, which will be located at Devon and Fairfield Avenues.
Chief guests and speakers for the parade include Consul General of India in Chicago Ausaf Sayeed, 5oth Ward Alderman Deborah Silverstein, Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emmanuel, Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and Illinois State Senator Ira Silverstein.
The parade chair is FIA Board Member Smita Shah and the co-chair is Syed Husseini of Wintrust Bank. The float committee chairman is FIA Trustee Kanti S Patel, while the banquet chairman is Harish Bhatt and Ravi Harsoor and co-chairman is Bhailal Patel, FIA trustee and founder.
On August 21, a grand banquet will be hosted by Harish Bhatt and Ravi Harsoor at the Meadows Club at 2950 W Golf Road in Rolling Meadows, Ill. The banquet will feature social hour from 5:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. and musical and dance performances by Babul Supriyo and Harshita Bhatt, followed by awards ceremony recognizing community leaders and dignitaries who have made outstanding contributions to the Chicagoland community. The event will also feature a special guest, Adarsh Shastri, grandson of Lal Bahadur Sastri.
In cooperation with FIA the Consulate General will host the flag-hoisting ceremony Aug. 15.
FIA President Minhaj Akhtar urged the Chicagoland community to join the event, whether from suburbs, the borders of Illinois or downtown Chicago, irrespective of whether they are Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, or Christians. Akhtar especially urged the youth to join the event.
“This day we celebrate our insurmountable strength as a nation whose greatest asset is its unified diversity. I humbly request all residents to join and make this a most successful event so that we can continue to ingrain the culture and tradition of our nation’s independence in our youth,” Akhtar said.
“Today’s youth should know how hard it was to obtain independence. Our new generation should know about how it took place,” Akhtar said.
For more information regarding the Indian Independence Day Parade and Banquet, please call President Minhaj Akhtar at 773-552-2000.
The post Union Minister Babul Supriyo Named Grand Marshal Of Chicago India Day Parade appeared first on News India Times.