IBA celebrates India’s Independence Day with historic parade in Edison, NJ

Undeterred by the blistering heat, thousands upon thousands gathered to experience the IBA’s 12^th Annual India Day Parade on Oak Tree Road.   With 24 floats and dozens of marching groups, this year’s parade was the largest in the history of the event.  Over 100 New Jersey based community, professional, business, and religious organizations participated and supported the parade, which included ethnic bands, music, and live performances. 

Chandrakant Patel, Chairman of IBA remarked that this parade reminded him of the very first one in 2005.  “That day was very warm too. But this parade always goes on successfully, rain or shine” he remarked.   A big reason for the success is the number of volunteers that help with the effort. “We generally have about 115 dedicated volunteers who help with everything from setting up the stage to decorating the floats” explained Mahesh Shah, trustee for the IBA. 

A fan favorite of this year’s parade was the Air India float which was occupied by an entire flight crew.  Air India  announced the launch of a new Ahmedabad-Newark flight service.  Other highlights included the Dhol tasha group, The BCB Community Bank Float, the Investor’s Bank float, and the Accurate Diagnostics Float. 

The community was joined by a variety of state and local elected officials from across the state, including Middlesex, Union, Passaic, Hudson, and Somerset counties. Congressman Frank Pallone was on hand too as was New Jersey State Senator Sam Thompson.  Amongst the attendees were also  New Jersey Lieutenant Governor  Kim Guadagno,  Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate and former Ambassador to Germany  Phil Murphy, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fullop, and former NJ Bernie Sanders Chairman Assemblyman Wisniewski.    

“The IBA Parade is a statewide celebration of the Indian community” said IBA President Dhiren Amin.  “Indian American from across the state get together on Oak Tree Road, the heart of New Jersey’s little India to celebrate our common history, traditions, and culture” he continued. 

The parade was followed by a very well attended cultural program. Dozens of local artists joined Bollywood celebrities Harshika Poonacha, Aarti Chhabria, and Varenyam Pandya.  “Everyone enjoyed our celebrity guests, they really interacted with the spectators” said IBA Trustee Manher Shah.   

The highlight of the festivities was the swearing in of Viru Patel, who was appointed to the Woodbridge Council.  Mr. Patel is the first Councilman of Indian descent in the history of Woodbridge Township. According to the 2010 census, nearly 25% of Woodbridge Township’s population is Asian.  Mr. Patel will represent the 4^th Ward, which includes Oak Tree Road. He was sworn in by Mayor McCormac.  “It is such an honor to be sworn in on India Square together with so many of my fellow South Asian Americans” said Mr. Patel.