Indian association takes
first steps in Marlboro
MARLBORO — Although the time and date has not yet been selected for a celebration, Diwali will be celebrated next month as the second formal gathering this year for the newly formed Indian American Association of Marlboro.
Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, which is celebrated as a religious holiday throughout India in mid-November.
Captain Shital Rajan, one of the association’s founding members, said the group is expecting to hold a Diwali celebration in October at the Marlboro Recreation Community Center. For this holiday, celebrants will wear traditional Indian clothing, enjoy the music and dance of their culture, feast on a variety of ethnic meals and sweets, and exchange gifts.
The Indian American Association of Marlboro was formally created on Aug. 18 when nearly 100 of the town’s 6,000 Indian American residents joined together with municipal and state officials to celebrate India’s 54th anniversary of independence from British rule.
Rajan said he hopes the past and future events, along with the efforts of the association, will not only bring together people of a similar nationality, but will work to remedy any conflict that may still exist between Indian Americans and Pakistanis in Monmouth County and surrounding areas.
In 1947, India was partitioned into India, represented by Hindus; Pakistan, represented by Muslims; and Sri Lanka, represented by Buddhists.
Within the past 18 months, 1,000 Indian American families have moved to Marlboro, according to Rajan. Middlesex and Ocean counties, he added, have the largest Indian American communities in the nearby area.
Rajan compared the new association to the birth of a child, saying it will take some time to establish membership. He said the group will endeavor to get news of its existence and its events out to the community through the local media.
The Indian American Association of Marlboro and its events will promote unity, involvement in the community and help for others, Rajan said. The organization and its functions will also serve to prevent the isolation of a group of residents so far away from their native land, he said.
"I want them to get out of the house and say hello to their neighbors, whether those neighbors are Indian Americans, Americans, African Americans or Russians," Rajan said.
Many Indian Americans have become residents in the United States in order to seek prosperity and provide better lives for their children, Rajan said.
"We came to this country, and we landed here with a goal in mind," he said.
Rajan attributed the formation of the Indian American Association of Marlboro to the curiosity and concern of Planning Board Chairman Mario Giudice, who approached Rajan earlier this year and asked him if he was aware of any local Indian American groups.
"He told me I should start up some type of organization," Rajan recalled.
The association’s founders are in the process of choosing officers. The group is expected to meet once or twice monthly.