Skip to content Skip to navigation

Independence Day in Kuwait

Inquisitiveness, curiosity n proudness filled me as I got ready to attend the 62nd Independence Day at Indian Embassy,Kuwait. As we drove to the Embassy at 6.30am to reach and be part of the flag hoisting at 7.10am ,my mind was filled with different thoughts…thoughts of the many Indenpence Day we celebrated in our motherland Assam under the shadow of Assam Bandh . My one year daughter too wake up early that day as if she understood the importance of this special day. As we approach’d the embassy my husband park’d our car atleast 1km from the embassy as there was no space as hundreds of cars were already parked. As we came near the embassy we were pleasantly surprised to see hundreds of Indians from different walks of life and some like me with infants. People had Indian Flags in their hands. I felt so happy and proud when my infant daughter too took a flag and was waving. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat, Mera Bharat Mahan echoed in the air. The “Borah Drummers”, the members are Guajarati Muslims exhibited their talent and skills. Small school children and Doctors community sang patriotic songs. The Indian Ambassador Ajai Malhotra hosted the national tri-colour flag as we all stood there with proudness. He read out the Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh’s message ,the speech which he gave to millions of Indians from the Red Fort .He also read out the various facilities and schemes that the embassy has taken for thousands of Indian workers. After the cultural programme was over ,the Ambassador met the common people and listen to their grievances if any. Deep feeling of proudness enveloped thousands who gathered there to be part of such a celebration. Mughal Mahal, a famous Indian restaurant gave free breakfast (paratha,chola,sweets) to thousands of people who gathered . Free supplements on Independence Day were distributed by The Times(Kuwait’s premier weekly newspaper) and Arab Times(Kuwait’s national daily).


In a foreign country that too in a Middle East Muslim country like Kuwait we celebrated it so much fun, proudness and most importantly without fear, then why not in our motherland Assam??Can’t we be like rest of India and foreign countries in observing our Independence Day???When will such a day come???These thoughts filled my mind as we drove back home.


I remembered Jawaharlal Nehru’s Independence Day speech…. "Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we will redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.... We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again."


Its time for us, all assamese people to defy the Bandh and celebrate it with love, fun and frolic.


by Parimita Barooah Bora, Kuwait

Comments

SKumar's picture

The Ambassador infact read out the President of India's message and not the Prime Minister's. Anyhow thanks to Parimita for sharing her thoughts. We too feel proud like her to be part of the celebrations of our great nation.
Chintu Nath's picture

Pom-ba, it was a great coverage for us to know about how NRIs feel about their country and Independence. We Indians are actually, patriotic by birth; it is in our subconscious to feel great and own about our country. No matter where we live in heart we are always INDIANS, and the whole world today recognizes that.We must always endeavor to do better than before wherever we are, and mere that doing only will take our nation even higher and greater. Vande Mataram.
PriyalakshmiB's picture

Woh!such a gathering.

Pages

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

A special operation unit of the Assam police apprehended a hardcore ISI activist on Friday from the city. The arrested activist S M Alam alias Mujhibulla Alam alias Ashif Alam hails from Dhaka in Bangladesh and has been actively operating in the north eastern region. Prior to it, he was a Jammat-e-Islamic activist closely associated with Chatra Sibir. In 1993 he joined the Pakistan based Jehadi outfit, Harkat-ul-Mujahiddin after undergoing training in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir. In 2005, he worked as a Jamatul Mujahiddin activist in Bangladesh. From 2006 and onwards he has been working as an ISI activist. Now he is the ISI’s keyman operating in the north eastern region and has been...
The School of Journalism, Southern Illinois University Carbondale (USA) in association with Guwahati Press Club has organised a two-day media workshop for mid career journalists on strengthening media professionalism and the NGO-media interface in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for HIV/AIDS coverage. The workshop, to be held at Guwahati Press Club, will begin on January 4.The workshop will include joint sessions for all participants together including one headed by a Guwahati physician who is expert in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and breakout sessions specifically for journalists, journalism educators and Non-Governmental Organizations.The programme will be led by two American faculty...
The injured Asom Gana parishad MLA Padma Hazarika has been shifted to the Guwahati Neurological Research Centre on Saturday morning. According to information, doctors here say the legislator from Sootea needs more treatment and suspect more bullets might be there inside his body.The regional party has condemned the attack on Mr Hazarika and has demanded immediate arrest of the miscreants involved in it.In a memorandum to the Union Home Minister, the party demanded that the Assam Government should be dismissed immediately after its failure to maintain law and order. He said that the Government has lost all credibility to remain in power because of lack of administrative control.The party...
Asom Gana Parishad general secretary and former Union steel minister Birendra Prasad Baishya was seriously injured at a car accident in Silchang under Nelie police station in Marigaon district on Friday at eleven in the morning. Two people died and several others injured in the accident.The accident took place while an Indigo car had its head on collision in Silchang with the Tezpur bound car where the AGP leader Mr Baishya was on his way to Tezpur with his two escorts.. The driver and a passenger of the Indigo car died on the spot. The deceased have been identified as Jyotish Chandra Baruah and Reha Chandra Boro.The seriously injured Mr Baishya was later rushed to the Guwahati Neurological...
Asom Gana Parishad MLA, from Sootea, Padma Hazarika was shot by some unidentified miscreants in his home town on Thursday night. Further, the miscreants set on fire his vehicle.According to information, the miscreants sprayed five rounds of bullets and he fell injured. Later he was rushed to the hospital where his condition is said to be out of danger.Investigation is going on but no one has so far been picked up in this connection.
A Powerful Bomb has been exploded in Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express in early morning at 1 AM. 5 person have been killed and many people injured. The explosion took place between Naojan and Sungajan area (Near Bokajan) of Golaghat district. The bomb was placed in a railway track which derailed 4 coaches off the train. Details awaited.Update:The National Security Guards officials will assist the probe into the blast that cracked the New Delhi bound Rajdhani Express at the dead of the night on Wednesday by the Assam Adivasi Liberation Army leaving five people killed and four others injured in between Naojan and Chungajan.Confirming this in New Delhi officials with the Union home ministry say...
"They had migrated to Asom about 150 years ago as labourers for tea gardens and are not the sons of the soil here. When the Bodos are not given tribal status in other parts of the region like the hill district of Karbi Anglong in Asom and Meghalaya, how do the Adivasis consider themselves as indigenous tribals?" -- Anjali Daimari The above statement made by Anjali Daimari, the advisor of the Indigenous Women's Forum of North-East India, who is also the President of the Bodo Women Justice Forum, regarding the ST politics in Assam justifies her stand on the issue. If the whole thing is observed apolitically the matter finds its just solution...
Darrang College, a premier institution of higher education in the northern Assam, is organising a two-day national seminar on "Sustainable Growth of Eco-tourism in North-East India with special reference to Tezpur" on February 2, 2008 at the college premises.Organised by the Department of Commerce and sponsored by the University Grant Commission (UGC), the sub-themes of the workshop will be community-based eco-tourism, eco-conservation of nature, eco-friendly destination planning and marketing, environmental impacts, prospects of rural tourism in Assam, eco-tourism and economic benefits, management problems of eco-tourism etc.KOUSHIK HAZARIKA
A population estimation of the eastern swamp deer was carried out at Kaziranga National Park on December 6. A total of 681 swamp deers were counted, out of that 189 are male, 382 female and 107 yearlings. The eastern swamp deer, known Dal Horina in Asomiya, is a schedule I animal species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. It may be mentioned here that the Kaziranga swamp deer is the last surviving population of the eastern swamp deer group. Other world population are the central group found in the Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh and the northern group found in Uttar Pradesh and along the Indo-Nepal border.KOUSHIK HAZARIKA, BOKAKHAT
The Duliajan AASU unit has called for a 36-hour Oil India Limited (OIL) Chaka Bandh from Saturday morning to protest against OIL’s failure to honour the AASU’s 21-point charter of demands.According to information, the student organisation will stop plying of OIL vehicles on the road during this period forcing the authorities to beef up security.Speaking to Assam Times over telephone from Dibrugarh, the district AASU leaders say despiterepeated assurances, the OIL authorities, nothing has happened. “We are bound to continue our agitation,” they say.Notably, the AASU inked a pact with the OIL in full view of the district administration in 1990 to fulfill the AASU...