Hundreds of members from various organizations assembled at Amrit Sabha, Northborough, MA on 8 Aug, 2019 evening to pay Shraddhanjali to Smt. Sushma Swaraj Ji and to recognize and express their gratitude to Shri. Narendra Modi Ji and his team for historic achievement of one Nation, One Flag, One Constitution.

Shraddhanjali program started with a Shanti Mantra by the priest of Shri Radha Krishna Mandir, Pandit Jagadeesh Ji, followed by singing of National Anthems of Indian and USA. Sabha members paid their humble tributes to their beloved leader Smt. Sushma Swaraj Ji who passed away in New Delhi late Tuesday night after suffering a massive heart attack by observing one minute silence. She was India’s popular foreign minister and senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She became well-known all over the world for helping Indians stuck abroad by responding to them on Twitter. She was the country's foreign minister from 2014 to 2019, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first term in office. She was the second woman to hold the office in India's history.

Senior and young adult members offered flowers to the portrait of Smt. Sushma Swaraj Ji. This was followed by brief speeches by the panel members who had direct or indirect interactions with Smt. Sushma Swaraj Ji. They remembered and shared very fondly their past interactions, involvements, and thoughts about her strong personality, style of oratory, and kind public services. Some recollected her exemplary roles played during her tenure as the Minister of External Affairs.

Dr. Abhaya Asthana, the President of World Hindu Council of America, Dr. Suresh Jain, the President of Boston Chapter of Hindu Swayam Sevak Sangh (HSS), Shri. Kanchan Banerjee the President of Global Initiative for Bharat Vikas, Shri. Pramit Maakoday, Social Activist, Shri. Suresh Sharma, the President of Milan-USA – A Social and Cultural organization spoke about Smt. Sushma Ji, a remarkable leader who devoted her life to public service and bettering lives of the poor.

Smt. Priyadarshani and Ms. Geetha Patil read their poems about Smt. Sushma Ji. Smt. Shruti Mankad song a melodious Bhajan and Smt. Jyoti Sharma sang an emotional Patriotic Song.

In the second part of the program, Shri Sanjeev Tripathi read his poem about the scraping of Article 370 and 35A by Shri Modi Ji and his team as an introductory note to this session. Shri Sanjay Kaul, the past President of Kashmiri Overseas Association, Dr. Abhaya Asthana, Shri. Anupama Wali, past President of  India Association of Greater Boston (IAGB) and served as National Secretary of Kashmiri Overseas Association, Shri Lalit Kaul, the President of Indo-American  Kashmiri Forum and served as the Board of Directors of Kashmiri Overseas Association, Smt. Dhanashree, the CEO of Hindu Media Bureau, Smt. Arti Kaul, Leading Vocal Artist from Kashmir and served as Board of Directors for Kashmiri Overseas Association, Mr. Shayan Kaul, a recent High School graduate and has written a book on Kashmir based on his research were the key panel members who spoke on the Article 370 and 35A scrapping, and expressed their gratitude to Shri. Modi Ji and Shri Amit Shah Ji for removing this special status provision and making Kashmir an integral part of India and bringing it under one Nation, One Flag, One Constitution. They remembered its beauty and described it as a heaven on the earth. Some expressed pain and suffering the Kashmiri Pandits underwent during genocide and ethnic cleansing.   Some others spoke on embracing the people of Kashmir with love and help and make them feel that they are a part of India.

Shri. Sanjay Kaul Ji, organized and moderated this program very meticulously with the support of Kashmiri Pandits of Boston, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America |(VHPA), Hindu Media Bureau  (HMB), Seva-USA International, Milan, Boston Desi Connection (BDC) TV, TV Asia, Amrit Sabha. He thanked all audiences for coming and making this event a memorable one. He thanked Hemal and Priya Rathod for proving the venue. He also thanked TV Asia, Lokvani, Mr. Kaushik, Mr. Nataraj Jaswal and Razia for media coverage.

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