Syeda Amtul
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — The Indian Cultural Society Jeddah (ICS) celebrated India’s 68th Independence Day recently at the Indian Consulate premises here. The event was mostly attended by the Indian community and other prominent personalities.
Head of Chancery and Consul for Education Mohammad Raghib Qureshi said the ICS has been organizing the Indian Independence and Republic Day functions since 38 years. He wished ICS good luck in all their endeavors.
Special guest Dr. M.S. Karimuddin, a Jeddah-based pediatrician and educationist, commended ICS President Arif Quraishi for dedicating his services toward the society, highlighting the yearly old textbooks campaign initiated by Quraishi in which books are collected and donated to the International Indian School Jeddah (IISJ) students.
He urged Indian Consul General B.S. Mubarak to arrange for new premises for IISJ as "4,000 to 5,000 students are denied admission in school due to lack of space."
He also urged members of the ICS to look for suitable buildings and give their suggestions to the consulate.
In his welcome speech, ICS patron Dr. Dilshad Shamsi provided a glimpse of Indian history, highlighting the contribution of Muslims in the freedom struggle.
He congratulated ICS President Arif Quraishi for being honored recently with an award titled “Great Indian Lover and Patriot” presented to him by Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana Mohammed Mahmood Ali.
Quraishi paid tribute to the martyrs whose struggle resulted in India’s independence. He said: “Former Indian ambassador Talmiz Ahmad had first lent me support to organize national day functions and since then all consuls general have always cooperated with me in This effort to celebrate the patriotic days."
He thanked Mubarak and Qureshi for their cooperation. The cultural program featured patriotic and film songs sung by local Indian singers S. Waheedy (Jimmy), Ahmed Siddiqui, Maqbool Pervaiz, Yunus, Asha, Nadeem Khan, Wasim Mukaddam and Faris Waheedy.
The program was compered by Asim Zeeshan, which ended with the recitation of the Indian national anthem.
The sponsors of the program were Air India, Tata, Danube, Best Harvest, Pepsi, Al-Falah International School (DPS), Jeddah National Hospital, Mosaid Travel, Mehfil Restaurant, Saudi Masterbaker Ltd., and B. Cola.
