AIA Celebrates “Swades” - India 79 th Independence Day in a grand way
Los Angeles/Aug 26, 2025
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/ A.Gary Singh
Association of Indo Americans (AIA) & Bolly 92.3 presented “Swades” celebrating India’s 79 th
Independence Day. AIA organized Historical India Parade in the streets of Downtown San Jose
with over 75 floats. It is supported by 50+ Indian organizations in Bay Area & an estimated
25,000 + floating attendees participated throughout the day, engaging in the vibrant and
exciting programs. It was visually stunning view in colorful SJ downtown.
One of the key mottos of Swades is to showcase and propagate Indian Culture and Art forms.
Cultural programs with over 100 + kids participated in classical, film dances. Carroms, Chess & sports were conducted.
The flag-hoisting ceremony graced by notable dignitaries including Popular Indian actress
Ameesha Patel Grand Marshal, Srikanth Bolla Guest of Honor (Founder, Earth Cleanse), Rakesh
Adlakha Deputy Consul General of India (SFO) they led the grand Parade & hoisted India Tri
color flag and conveyed greeting to all the attendees. They said they are extremely happy to
see representation from all states in India and congratulations AIA in preserving our heritage
and culture.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan hoisted the US Flag on this occasion. Mayor Matt Mahan conveyed
his wishes and stated that Parade will only get bigger in the years to come. Further he said that
AIA's Swades celebrations will become a big attraction in San Jose. Over 50+ elected officials
(Mayors, Citi Councilmembers, Assembly members & others) across Silicon Valley graced the occasion that included the following:
Ash Kalra (Assemblymember, 25th Assembly District), Raj Salwan (Mayor, City of Fremont),
Carmen Montano (Mayor, City of Milpitas), Liang Chao (Mayor, City of Cupertino), Larry Klein
(Mayor, City of Sunnyvale), Lily Mei (Mayor Emeritus, City of Fremont), Bien Doan
(Councilmember, District 7, San José City, Paul Joseph (Chief of San Jose), Raj Chahal
(Councilmember, City of Santa Clara), Neysa Fligor (Vice Mayor, City of Los Altos), Tom Pyke
(Office of Congressman Ro Khanna), Ajay Bhutoria (Indian Community, Bay Area), Tina Walia
(Councilmember, City of Saratoga), Ruben Abrica (Councilmember, City of East Palo Alto),
George Casey (Councilmember, District 10, San José City), Harish Kharbanda (Office of the
Consulate General of India), Sudhanshu "Suds" Jain (Councilmember, City of Santa Clara), Kevin
Park (Councilmember, District 4, City of Santa Clara), Vivek Prasad (Fremont Unified School
District), Anu Nakka (Milpitas Unified School District), Ashley Dargert (Office of Supervisor Otto
Lee), Anurag Pal (Office of Assemblymember Alex Lee), Justin Jeong (Office of Congressman
Sam Liccardo), Yan Zhao (Councilmember, City of Saratoga), David Cohen(Councilmember,
City of San Jose)
Many Floats decorated with respective Indian State's culture/heritage participated in the
parade. The participants were very enthusiastic and played music and danced along the way;
the downtown resounded with patriotic music and feelings with the parade. The overall Non-Juniper festivities went on until 10:30 pm; Everyone enjoyed the outstanding night festivities with
amazing.
Vijay Bharat – A grand musical entertainment with state dances & classical dances, fireworks,
live singing concert by Jhoom productions & supported by BATA/AIA Karaoke singers and DJ
music.
The AIA team thanked all the sponsors for their continued support and the volunteers for their
hard work in making the event a grand success. Sanjiv Gupta CPA was the grand sponsor,
Platinum sponsor Lavanya Duvvi (realtor), Travelopod (Travel Partner), Powered by Realtor
Nagaraj Anniah, Z5 (Streaming partner), Earth Cleanse (Eco Friendly partner), Silver Sponsors
include Wee Indian!, Insta Service, Azad Financials, Vachi Silks, MyPursu & ICICI bank. Media
partners were also acknowledged for their support.
As AIA celebrates the success of Swades, the team has already started preparations for the
upcoming Dussehra Diwali Dhamaka (DDD). It is an annual flagship event that will include
special festivities such as Mahamangala Aarti, Rath Yatra, fireworks, 35 + ft Ravan Dahan and
lot more. The event has grown year after year, with last year's attendance reaching over
50,000. The event will take place at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton on October
11 th (Saturday). Stay tuned..
To learn more about AIA and our upcoming events, please visit aiaevents.org
The Association of Indo Americans is a non-profit organization providing a forum to explore the
rich and diverse heritage of the Indian American community living in the United States. The
mission of AIA is to foster and promote cultural and social interactions among its members,
facilitate cultural events and educational programs pertaining to the Indian subcontinent,
celebrate the diverse cultural heritage of the Indian subcontinent and share this rich culture
with the community.
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