India's 60th Independence Day celebrated in the US

Washington, Aug 15 (UNI) India's 60th Independence Day was celebrated with gusto, with Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen hoisting the national tricolour at the Embassy amid a large gathering of Indians settled in the US.

Mr Sen then read out Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address to the nation. It was followed by a cultural programme.

Similar flag-hoisting ceremonies and festivities to herald the Day were held in New York, Texas, Chicago and California and other places.

In San Francisco and several other smaller towns including Rockland in New York, the annual India Day Parade was held as the scent of fried samosas and other Indian appetisers wafted through the air and people dressed in saffron, white and green - the colors of the Indian flag - danced to the rhythm of the tablas.

The festivities marked the ninth year the parade has been held in Rockland County and the 60th year since India gained its Independence from British rule on August 15, 1947.

More than 2,000 people attended the parade and festival, which kicked off at a Park near Middletown Road and ended in the parking lot at Nanuet Mall. According to the 2005 census, there are more than 6,000 Indian-Americans in Rockland County.

The highlight of the parade, which had several floats showcasing Indian culture, was one that drew a lot of attention -- about Mahatma Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian Independence movement and an inspiration for civil-rights movements across the world.

The event was also marked in a big way by major US publications like the New York Times, Time International, the New Yorker, the Economist and the International Herald Tribune which brought out special articles devoted to India and its growing strength as the world's largest democracy.

The Time magazine had a cover story ''Indian Summer'' that says ''many of the years since independence were ones of promise undelivered. But India is beginning to live up to its dreams -- perhaps encouraging neighbors to emulate its success.'' Another article notes that to write about the 60th anniversary of India's independence from Britain ''is to notice something different in the air. Doubt is out; confidence is catching on.'' The New Yorker had an article about the legacy of the partition and so did several websites and Television news.

UNI