Saudi Gazette report THE 69th Republic Day of India was celebrated with fervor in Indian missions and schools around the Kingdom. In Riyadh, Ambassador Ahmad Javed hoisted the national flag followed by rendition of the national anthem and patriotic songs by the students of the International Indian School in Riyadh. Students of the school also presented several colorful cultural performances. Ambassador Javed read out President Ram Nath Kovind’s message to the gathering of over 1,100 members of Indian community, friends of India and officials of the mission. On the occasion, the ambassador presented certificates of appreciation to the speakers of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations of 2017 & 2018; the winners of online Quiz competitions related to Paryatan Parv (Tourism Festival); and the artists of the Photo & Painting Exhibition on Indo-Saudi Architectural Heritage organized by the Embassy of India, Riyadh. In Jeddah, a colorful ceremony was held on the premises of the consulate. Consul General Md. Noor Rahman Sheikh hoisted the national flag. The flag hoisting was followed by the singing of the national anthem and reading of the president’s address to the nation. A large number of Indian nationals attended the function. Indian community members and friends of India were invited to the ceremony. Children from the International Indian School, Jeddah, enchanted the audience with patriotic songs. About 700 people attended the function. The consul general then arrived on the IISJ premises to preside over a Republic Day ceremony. After hoisting the Indian flag and the rendition of the national anthem, Sheikh released the “dove of peace” before reading out of the president’s message on the occasion to the goodly crowd and the children assembled. Reading the Kovind’s address to the nation, Sheikh began with the president’s tribute to the brave soldiers and security personnel who made the supreme sacrifice of their lives in defending India’s territorial integrity and maintaining law and order. He also recollected the president’s words on how the Indian people gave to themselves a constitution to secure for all its citizens, justice, liberty, equality, and gender and economic equity. The message continued, “A Republic is its people. Citizens do not just make up and preserve a Republic; they are its ultimate stakeholders and in fact pillars. Each one of us is a pillar... “India became a republic on Jan. 26, 1950. This was the second major milestone in our nation building process. Independence had come a little over two years earlier. But it was with the framing and adoption of the constitution — and the birth of the Republic of India — that we truly achieved the ethic of equality among all citizens, irrespective of religion, region or community. “This ethic of equality complemented the liberty that had come at Independence. And a third principle also defined both the cooperative efforts at creating our republic as well as the India that we wished to be. This was the principle of fraternity.” The president’s message rounded off with the homily: “Above all, our republic cannot rest and cannot be satisfied without meeting the basic needs and essential dignity of our less well-off brothers and sisters. I refer to those from a less privileged socio-economic background, from the weaker communities and from families that still live at the edge of poverty. “It is our sacred obligation to eliminate the curse of poverty in the shortest possible time. This is non-negotiable for the Republic. The promise of a developed India beckons us. This is the new stage of our nation building project on which we have embarked. This is the Republic that our young people need to take forward and enhance — in keeping with their vision, their ambition and their ideals...” A synchronized display by the IISJ marching band of music and precision was followed by a medley of patriotic songs. The real scene-stealers were the tiny tots from the I-II girls block with their coordinated movements in the drill display. Dressed in the tri-color of Orange, White and Green and the blue chakra, the drill that showed the flow of the flag billowing in the wind morphed through intricate formation into flowers, before they aligned themselves to form the Indian flag. The children also enacted the Indian history of the first freedom movement that saw the great uprising of 1857 that led to the country’s independence in 1947 and the eventual framing of the constitution.