CG Ashok lauds rich tradition of Sindhis

Sindhi Sammelan Attendees
Ash Kalra Speaking
Ash Kalra Speaking

Lakshmi Iyer
India Post News Service
SANTA CLARA, CA: The Sindhi Community of Northern California (SCNC) in association with Alliance of Global Sindhi Associations (AGSA) organized the25th International Sindhi Sammelan (meet) from Thursday July 5 to Sunday July 8 at the Hyatt Regency in Santa Clara, California.
At every such mega meet, Sindhis from the US and other countries join to celebrate their heritage and achievements.
Sindh is currently a province in Pakistan. Most native Sindhis moved out to India during the Partition in 1947. Today, they have a presence in many countries across the globe.

Chandru Bhambra, a key member of FIA/FOG, was the President of the Sammelan and addressed the gathering during the lamp lighting ceremony by dignitaries on Friday, July 6. SCNC was hosting this Sammelan after 20 years. In his speech, he acknowledged the contributions of the Fremont Hindu Temple and key leaders of the Sindhi community in the Bay Area, such as Kamal Mirchandani.

Indian Consul General from the San Francisco Consulate Mr Venkatesan Ashok was one of the dignitaries present at the lamp lighting ceremony along with California State Legislative Assembly member Ash Kalra and Council members Savitha Vaidyanathan and Raj Salwan.
The Consul General had wonderful things to say about Sindh and Sindhis, the people of the ancient region from which India derived its name (Indus river was originally called the Sindhu river and the word “Hindu” is actually a mispronunciation of “Sindhu”).
He said, “You who come from the land of Sindh, the land of the Sindhis, represent the oldest part of the subcontinent and the one part, which was the first to get civilized from the time of MohenjoDaro and Harappa.”

He mentioned the changing of Sindh to Hindus the Iranians could not pronounce the ‘sa’.

Certificates Cal State Assembly
Certificates Cal State Assembly

He spoke about meeting Sindhis overseas in various parts of the world where he was posted and commended the community, “You have a very rich tradition. It is wonderful that you have such organizations which can communicate to succeeding generations the customs, the values, the food and all the exciting things, which keep us going so that we can see this tradition prevailing well into the future. ”
Assembly member, Ash Kalra said that it was remarkable that this meeting had been going on for the last 25 years. He mentioned his father in the audience, and their immigration to the US in 1978.
Mr Kalra said, “We still have some very close Sindhi friends that became part of our family back then that we grew up with. But now, when you look at the Indian community, compare how much it has grown, every group, every region – they can have their own celebrations and still celebrate being Indian, too.”

Giving a shout out to the Indian American Council members Savitha Vaidyanathan (from Cupertino) and Raj Salwan (from Fremont), he said, “In fact, I am joined by two Indian American council members that back then, we would never have imagined having numerous elected officials representing our community that are doing such a great job.”
He presented SCNC and AGSC each with certificates of recognition.
Council member Savitha Vaidyanathan paid homage to the enterprising nature of Sindhis, “One thing I really do honor and appreciate is all the businesses that you are involved in. Being on the other side, in the government, we appreciate the taxes you bring to us. So keep going strong with your businesses!”

Chandru B Savitha V
Chandru Bhambra & Savitha Vaidyanatahan

She added, “You represent India really strong and thank you so much to the parents and grandparents in the audience who continue to promote the culture to the next generations.”
Congratulating the community on the 25th anniversary, she presented the organizations with certificates, too.
The event had booths, great traditional appetizers and dinner, along with raffle games, music, and clips from old films featuring legendary Sindhi film artistes and singers. The next day’s agenda had panel discussions on Sindhiyat (Sindhi identity), startups by the community and even a fashion show.