Around 50 students, faculty and staff came to watch the national flag of India rise at Chapman University’s International Peace Plaza on a gloomy Thursday, Jan. 25. The orange, white and green flag flapped in the breeze, against a dark sky that cleared just before the ceremony started.
The ceremony took place at 10:30 a.m., the time it would been midnight in India — making Chapman University in downtown Orange the “first in the nation amongst all universities to celebrate the 75th Republic Day,” officials said before the event.
“India’s Republic Day is a day to celebrate India’s adoption of its constitution,” said Pradip K. Shukla, a professor of business and economics, on Thursday. “(This) is a historic occasion and India is the world’s largest democracy.”
One of three national Indian holidays, Jan. 25 was the first Republic Day celebrated on Chapman University’s campus, according to Shukla. Other holidays include the Diwali Festival of Lights, and Holi, the Festival of Colors.
Chapman University has over 80 countries represented in its student body, according to spokesperson Rachel Morrison. Thirteen percent of Chapman students are from India.
Orange County itself has a thriving Indian community, with Irvine having the highest population of Asian Indian residents, according to the latest U.S. Census data from 2020. The cities of Anaheim, Tustin, and Buena Park each have the next highest populations of Indians.
Other university-wide efforts to honor the holiday included an award ceremony in mid-January, which recognized Indian community and business leaders, a discussion on U.S.-Indian trade with previous U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Juster, and a panel discussion on India and U.S. trade with nonprofit The IndUS Entrepreneurs.
Chapman University received recognition from former L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of India, with a video congratulating Chapman University for these events.
“We are witnesses…
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