Indian Americans mark homeland’s independence Marlboro group forms to help local population gain voice in community

Staff Writer

By theresa a. boschen

Indian Americans mark
homeland’s independence
Marlboro group forms
to help local population
gain voice in community


FARRAH MAFFAI  With the flag of India as a backdrop, Vivek Sinha addresses guests at India Independence Day ceremonies held at the Marlboro Recreation Community Center on Saturday. The event was sponsored by the new Indian American Association of Marlboro.FARRAH MAFFAI With the flag of India as a backdrop, Vivek Sinha addresses guests at India Independence Day ceremonies held at the Marlboro Recreation Community Center on Saturday. The event was sponsored by the new Indian American Association of Marlboro.

MARLBORO — State and township officials celebrated with a crowd of 100 people at the Marlboro Recreation Community Center on Sunday in recognition of India’s Independence Day, one month after a group of 600 people joined together to form the new Indian American Association of Marlboro.

Aug. 15 marks the actual date of India’s independence from Great Britain.

Mayor Matthew V. Scannapieco participated as chief guest and state Senate Majority Leader John O. Bennett III served as marshal during the dual-flag ceremony. The event educated guests young and old about India’s history and entertained them with Indian dance and song.

Another chief guest, Navnitlal C. Shah, a state interpreter/translator and software engineer for the U.S. Army at Fort Monmouth, Eatontown, is one member of the new association who, during the ceremonies, called for a "fusing together" of the Eastern and Western parts of the world to bring unity.

Two children — Devangi Patel, a seventh-grader at the Marlboro Middle School, and Karpur Shukla — addressed the audience, talking about their parents’ homeland, independent from British rule for the last 54 years, and reminded their community of the pride they have for their heritage.

The bare feet of Beevly Joseph, 19, and her sister, Ashly Joseph, 16, slapped against the floor of the recreation center’s gymnasium as both young women, in ornate brown, black and orange Indian costumes, gracefully danced in contemporary classical style to the music of their family’s origin.

Ashly, who, along with her sister, was born in Africa and moved to Marlboro from Manalapan one year ago, emphasized the significance of such a social gathering for those of Indian heritage.

"It’s very important to us because we have to maintain our culture and heritage," Ashly said. "Our parents and community encourage us to keep our heritage. By participating in an event like this, it helps us to learn more about our culture and be proud of who we are."

About 6,000 of Marlboro’s 37,000 residents are Indian Americans, according to Vivek Sinha, a member of the Indian American Association of Marlboro who, along with Captain Shital Rajan, founded the group. The group plans to meet once every two months to unite the Indian community and help with the planning of special events. The association is expected to hold a social gathering sometime in the fall and will hold a special event, "Diwali" (festival of lights), to celebrate the Indian New Year in November.

"We need our voice to be heard in town, and we want it to be known that we exist in our fast-growing community," Rajan said. "We feel that in this country we now call home, we have to make sure we all know one another."

Bennett read a state Senate resolution that saluted the new association, honored India’s Independence Day and invited all New Jersey residents to recognize the significance of the anniversary.

"Each of you is working to contribute to the success of our great country," Bennett told the crowd. "We must work together to ensure that the world is a better place for mankind to live."

He read the words of Jawaharlal Nehru, the prime minister of the newly independent India a half-century ago, bringing to the listeners’ attention the vision of togetherness, saying the country "can no longer be split in isolated fragments."

Scannapieco said he viewed the celebration as an educational experience. Referring to information distributed during the event, Scannapieco said he was not aware that 38 percent of doctors, 12 percent of scientists and 36 percent of NASA scientists in the United States are Indians. The information that was distributed indicated there are 3,220,000 Indians in the United States, about 1.5 percent of the population.

Scannapieco, who attended Saturday’s event with his wife, Michelle, and daughter, Regina, 3, pledged to assist those present to the best of his ability and called for greater representation of the Indian community in local and state government.

"I say to you, ‘Please step forward,’ " the mayor said.

Marlboro resident and association member Sonal Shukla said she is proud to be an American and hopes for her children to appreciate "the best of both cultures."

"I want to pass that on to my kids for them to understand," she added.

The United States strives to maintain both freedom and justice, and other nations are working hard to achieve those same qualities, Shukla pointed out.

"All the leading democracies want to emulate what America has already achieved," she said. "I want my kids to understand the aspects of American and Indian values."