The Council of Indian Organizations of Central Valley will host the 67th annual India Independence Day Celebration, 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, in the Satellite Student Union at Fresno State. The celebration is followed by a dinner off campus.
The events are co-sponsored by Fresno State’s Central Valley Cultural Heritage Institute and Indian Student Club, State Bank of India in Fresno and about 20 local Indian organizations.
Guests of honor will include Dr. Joseph I. Castro, Fresno State president and Dr. Kiran Bedi, prominent leader of an anti-corruption movement in India who is known as “Top Cop of India and Face of Indian Woman.”
Bedi became the first woman police officer of the Indian Police Service in 1972 and her expertise includes more than 35 years of reformative policing and prison management in India.
Congressmen Jim Costa (D-Fresno) will speak at 5 p.m. City and county proclamations will also be presented.
The afternoon celebration is free and open to the public. Tickets are required for the 7 p.m. dinner at Hope Lutheran Church (364 E. Barstow Ave. in Fresno). During the evening event Dr. Bedi will give her talk, “India Today and Tomorrow.”
Tickets for the evening event start at $40. The deadline to RSVP is Aug. 15.
During the free afternoon celebration, two 25-panel art exhibits will be on display in the Satellite Student Union lobby. They pay tribute to the legend of Swami Vivekananda, who is considered the patriotic saint of India, and to the first independence movement outside India, organized in 1913 by Indians living in the West.
The Swami Vivekananda display is in observance of the 150th anniversary of his birth. He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India and a major figure in bringing the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western World. Swami Vivekananda promoted acceptance and not mere tolerance of other people’s faiths, said Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor, Fresno State professor emeritus and event organizer.
The Council of Indian Organizations of Central Valley is a California nonprofit educational and civic organization based in Fresno. The non-partisan, secular organization is a conglomeration of various ethnicities, cultural groups and organizations engaged in the betterment and welfare of the people of Indian origin residing in the Central Valley.
For more information: info@fresnoindian.com or visit www.fresnoindian.com. To RSVP for dinner or learn about table sponsorships contact Paul Sihota, 559.269.6974 or Dr. Kapoor, 559.435.2212.
