May 11 2021, marked the inauguration of India@75, a path-breaking initiative by the Government of India, under the able leadership of our Honourable Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi. 

Global Indian International School SMART Campus together with the High Commission of India at Singapore celebrated this milestone together at the GIIS campus.

Presided over by the Guest of Honour His Excellency Mr P. Kumaran, High commissioner of India to Singapore, the event set about with a traditional welcome by the students of the GIIS SMART CAMPUS, following which the garlanding of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi took place.

The event started with our emcees Aditya Mandale and Neha Pullarkat welcoming everyone to the event. They introduced the India@75 initiative and talked about its aim and vision. 

India@75, aimed at celebrating and commemorating 75 years of Indian Independence from British rule. 15 August 2022 will mark the 75th year but, we kickstarted this year-long celebration of the victory of democracy, togetherness in diversity and richness of culture today. There are several activities that schools in Singapore are planning in collaboration with the High Commission. These activities are to make the students realise and appreciate the efforts put in by our leaders and freedom fighters to transform India into the nation that it is today. The school wants its students to become more responsible towards their country and not let the sacrifices of our freedom fighters go in vain. 

Our Chairman & Co-Founder, Mr Atul Termunikar, addressed the gathering, followed by Mr Kumaran. Their speech was very exhilarating and impactful. 

A Sanskrit app called "Little Guru" was launched by Mr Kumaran on this special occasion. This app is developed as a small step under the Modi government to introduce people to the marvels of the Sanskrit language. The language is getting faded away over time and, this app is a small effort to regain the grandeur of the magnificent language. A small demo video of the app was shown to the audience which was followed by a video message by Mr Dinesh Patnaik, the Director-General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Recently concluded was the 'Bharat ko Janiye Quiz 2020-21' conducted by the Ministry of External Affairs. This quiz was held to test knowledge about homeland India. Its winner Mr Aniket Roy was presented the Gold Medal by Mr Kumaran. 

We also had brilliant and beautiful performances by talented artists who pre-recorded their performance and sent them to us. The first performance was by the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society who performed an enthralling instrumental ensemble called "MALARI". Next was a spellbinding Odissi dance performance by the ChitraKala Arts. The students of GIIS also presented a Garba performance. The students executed it very beautifully. The final performance was an acoustic cover of 'Ae Watan' by Ambar Ghosh, Priya Bedekar and Priyag Bhat on Sitar. All these performances left the audience with a feeling of pride over the richness of India's culture.

The celebrations concluded with the felicitation of Mr P. Kumaran and the singing of the National Anthem of Singapore and India. 

Mr Atul Termunikar said, "Commemorating 75 years of a progressive India - the platinum jubilee of freedom if you will - is always a Mahotsav - a mega festival of freedom. It is also a mega festival celebrating the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements". 

To read the whole speech, click here.

Muskaan Aggarwal
CBSE 12B