By James DeWeese
Members of the JHMA and the Federation of Indian Associations gathered Aug. 13 in the Council Chamber of City Hall with Speaker Gifford Miller (D-Manhattan), Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights), state Sen. John Sabini (D-Jackson Heights) and famed Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman, among others, said JHMA President Shiv Dass.During the event, which took place two days before the multitudinous Indian Independence Day parade down Madison Avenue in Manhattan, Sears sported a traditional Indian sari.”She is one of us now,” Dass said with a wry smile a week after the celebration.Miller also donned some traditional Indian garb, sporting a pinkish Nehru jacket that the JHMA had loaned him.India was granted independence from Great Britain on Aug. 15, 1947, after years of nonviolent resistance to colonial rule. Today it is the world's largest democracy with more than 1 billion citizens.
