Newton Nods To Indian Independence, Community With Flag Raising

NEWTON, MA — Newton will be one of more than 30 communities around Massachusetts that plans to raise a flag in honor of Indian Independence Day Saturday.

According to the Institute for Asian American Studies, during the last census, Newton ranked among the top 10 communities with the largest population of Asian Americans.

At 9 a.m. Saturday the city will be holding a small ceremony to commemorate India's independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. The city was set to host bring back an India Day festival, but thanks to the pandemic that has been put on hold.

Mayor Ruthanne Fuller will say a few words, and a flag will be raised for the celebration of Indian Independence Day. Dana Hanson, and and a handful of members of the Newton Indian Community will be there. But, rather than open it up to everyone, the event will be live-streamed to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

"[We] hope to have a much bigger celebration in the future," said Rakashi Chand, who was among those helping to bring back an India Day festival along with the city's Paula Ganon.

The city held celebrations that recognized India in 2012, 2013, 2014 and again in 2017. Chand and the group were looking forward to this year's reboot, but given the pandemic, are happy to see the flag go up for the first time in recent memory.

"But we were delighted that the City and Dana had agreed to do a flag raising, and considering the current situation, this is more than what we could ask for," said Chand.

The organization behind the flag raising is the India Association of Greater Boston, which bills itself as the oldest and one of the leading Indian-American non profits in New England. It serves the Indian American communities in the Greater Boston area – Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

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