NRIs celebrate Baisakhi at the historic Gadar hall in US

Among the prominent people who attended the celebrations were BS Prakash, Vikram JS Bajwa and Harjeet S Sandhu.

The Indian festival of Baisakhi was celebrated at the historic Gadar hall in San Francisco.

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Among the prominent people who attended the celebrations Thursday were chief guest B.S. Prakash, Consul General of India, Vikram J.S. Bajwa (Indian National Overseas Congress), and the chief editor of Punjabi American news (Quami Ekta) Harjeet S. Sandhu, according to the IndUS Newsmedia Inc.

In his address, Prakash said it was good to see how the overseas Indian community was still connected with its roots.

The celebrations began with prayers performed by members of the Sikh gurdwara and Bay Area Centre of Sikhs, El Sobrante.

Several prominent members of the Indian American community were honoured. Harry Gill (businessman and senior Akali member from Caruthers), Surinder S. Atwal, (businessman), Paul Sihota (president, Selma Gurdwara, California), Bhai Sahib Giani Ji. S (Los Angeles, California), Chakot Radhakrishnan (Kerela Association of America), Sukhwant Khera (San Jose, California) and Rashid Ali Khan (Sacramento) were among the guests.

India's Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal was present in San Francisco along with a delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industries.

The IndUS Newsmedia, Inc. released it's first copy of the IndUS newspaper in English and Punjabi American News (Quami Ekta) in Punjabi. The Basaakhi.com website was also launched.