India will be celebrating its 74th Independence Day soon, on August 15th 2020. Every year IAGB hosts one of its largest event from Hatch Shell to City Hall Plaza, where attendance of our Indian American community has been at record highs. This year keeping in mind the pandemic of Covid-19 and it’s subsequent social distancing rules we have had to modify our celebration of this important day for all Indian Americans. We are coming up with very unique and creative ways with multiple initiatives in a multi-week long celebration to commemorate this momentous day in a safe way following the 'new norm'.  One of our efforts is hosting a Virtual Series of classes aimed at educating our youth regarding the importance of this day. 

In collaboration with Shishu Bharti, we are excited to present a fun-filled, thoughtful, and educational insight into India' s long journey from being a subjugated nation to a free nation. “In this six-part virtual course, a group of passionate teachers from the Shishu Bharati School of Culture and Languages will explore this topic”, says Lata Rao, IAGB Secretary, who leads the initiative. “The teachers will go through a timeline of the events through three centuries, describe the critical factors and important personalities at play; using a book list, You tube videos, and voluntary quizzes to supplement and illustrate the lessons”

India gained its independence from the British on August 15th 1947, after almost two hundred years of British rule. The British East India Company came to India in the 17th century to trade with a rich and prosperous India, created an Empire that lasted for two centuries, and then left an exploited and impoverished nation. 

The resistance to British rule had an extremely violent phase in 1857, called the “Sepoy Mutiny” or the “First War of Indian Independence”, which led to crushing defeat. It took a decades long nonviolent movement, finally led by one of the greatest human beings in history, Mahatma Gandhi, to gain independence to further their rule, the British deepened religious divisions that led to a bloody partition into two countries at Independence. All Indians and those of Indian origin in the world are living with the legacy of this period. 

All classes will be held on Zoom and Zoom Meeting ID and password will be emailed upon registration. Classes will begin on July 12th, Sunday from 10-11am ET. Registration is free and the classes are open to all Middle School and High School students. Please visit the website for more details and registration.  Prizes will be given for participation through the course, and at the end. Please visit the website for more details and registration. https://iagb.org/id2020-learningseries/

For any questions, please contact:
India Association of Greater Boston (IAGB): Mrs. Lata Rao (lata.rao@iagb.org) 
Shishubharati: Dr. Seshi Somapuram (sompuram@bu.edu), Mr. Vineet Kumar (vineet.kumar@analog.com)