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Rangoli and Lamps adorn Republic Day celebrations in Newham

The 73rd Republic Day of India was celebrated at London Sri Mahalakshmi Temple, East Ham by an enthusiastic group of people recently.

Organised and led by Cllr. Pushpa Makwana, Reena Pankhania, Tarla Mashru, Sharda Joshi and Raju Pankhania, the celebration included drawing of a beautiful Rangoli at the temple premises.

Marking the day India’s constitution came into effect, annually celebrated in New Delhi with a spectacular show demonstrating her incredible military strength, technological advances and cultural diversity, equally jubilant people of varying ages have come together in the borough of Newham to observe the occasion diligently and traditionally.

Making Rangoli for Republic Day

The East London Ladies took about three hours to collectively make the colourful Rangoli decorated with lamps with Indian tricolour in the middle.

Speaking to Asian Lite, Cllr Makwana said “Occasions like these bring out solidarity among members of the community. It is a day when people of all faiths, cultures, communities and sections come together to celebrate the rich history and culture of the country we originated from. It is also important for us to understand and also let the young generation understand the meaning of the tricolour, that the saffron colour signifies the strength and courage, while the green colour shows the fertility and growth, and the white colour indicates peace and truth”

The High Commission of India has encouraged several community groups in the UK to draw Rangolis and there was a great response to the activity.

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Drones light up Delhi sky at Beating Retreat Ceremony

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said that India will become the fourth country in the world after UK, Russia and China to light up 1,000 drones in the sky during the beating retreat ceremony.

Over 1,000 drones, dazzling in different colours, lit up the sky over the Lutyens’ Delhi on Saturday during the Beating Retreat Ceremony.

The ceremony was held in the presence of President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The drone show was organised by a startup ‘Botlab Dynamics’ which was supported by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, and Department of Science & Technology.

The show continued for around 10 minutes involving around 1,000 drones fabricated through indigenous technology.

A synchronised background music was also played during the drone show.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said it was a world record created by India by flying 1,000 drones during the ceremony.

“Proud that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India creates record of flying 1,000 drones to mark #BeatingRetreat. Must compliment #StartUp “Botlab”, supported by Union Ministry of Science & Technology, for completing task in 6 months to place India at 4th position after China, Russia & UK,” Singh said in a tweet.

During the 10-minute show, over 1,000 drones, in different formations along with a background voice, showcased a series of extravagant sunset troop manoeuvres during the ceremony.

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Padma awards 2022: Full list of recipients

India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), late General Bipin Rawat, has been posthumously honoured with the second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, on the occasion of 73rd Republic Day, reports Asian Lite News

The government on Tuesday announced 128 Padma awards, including four Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri awards, on the eve of the country’s 73rd Republic Day.

Out of the 128 Padma awardees, 13 are posthumous, 34 are women, while 10 persons are from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and OCIs.

The four Padma Vibhushan recipients are — CDS General Bipin Rawat (Civil Service, Posthumous), Prabha Atre (Art), Kalyan Singh (Public Affairs, Posthumous) and Radhyashyam Khemka (Literature & Education, Posthumous).

General (Late) Bipin Rawat

A total of 17 Padma Bhushan awards have been awarded. The names include Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad for Public Affairs, actor Victor Banerjee for Art, Gurmeet Bawa (Posthumous) for Art, former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for Public Affairs, Natarajan Chandrasekaran for Trade and Industry, Krishna Ella and Suchitra (Duo) for Trade and Industry, Madhur Jaffery for Culinary Skills, Devendra Jhajharia for Sports, vocalist Rashid Khan for Art, former CAG Rajiv Mehrishi for Civil Service, Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai for Trade and Industry, Cyrus Poonawala for Trade and Industry, Sanjay Rajaram (Posthumous) for Science and Technology, and Pratibha Ray, Swami Sachidananda and Vashistha Tripathi for Literature and Education.

Apart from these, a total of 107 Padma Shri awards have also been announced for eminent persons in the fields of Art, Trade and Industry, Literature and Education, Sports, Civil Services and others.

Former Chief Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, on Tuesday refused to accept the Padma Bhushan award conferred upon him by the government of India on the eve of the country’s 73rd Republic Day.

The Padma awards, the highest civilian awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.

The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, while the Padma Bhushan is for distinguished service of high order, and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.

The awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year.

The awards are conferred by the President of India at a ceremonial function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March-April every year.

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