On India’s 80th Independence Day, four overseas Indians living and working in the UAE share powerful messages of pride, gratitude, unity, and an unbreakable love for their homeland, which they carry in their hearts.
By Imran Malik | Community Desk | SharjahNews.ae
There is a particular quality to patriotism that distance refines. The Indian who celebrates Independence Day in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, or Delhi does so surrounded by the sights and sounds of home. The Indian who celebrates it in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Sharjah does so carrying it home within, and that internal celebration is often the most deeply felt of all.
On India’s 80th Independence Day, four overseas Indians living and working in the UAE share their journeys, their messages, and the bonds with their motherland that decades of distance have only deepened.
Syed Salahuddin, Founder and Chief Organizer, Indian Republic Day Kavi Sammelan and Mushaira, Dubai, 49 Years in UAE
Syed Salahuddin from Lucknow has a relationship with the UAE that spans nearly half a century. For 49 years, the UAE has been his home, his workplace, and the stage on which he has built one of the Indian diaspora community’s most cherished cultural institutions, the Indian Republic Day Kavi Sammelan and Mushaira in Dubai, a celebration of Indian poetry, language, and culture that brings the Indian community together year after year.
On India’s 80th Independence Day, speaking on behalf of the entire organizing committee of the Kavi Sammelan and Mushaira, Salahuddin extended greetings that carried the weight of 49 years of gratitude and love.
“Having been blessed to call the UAE my home for the past 49 years, I hold a deep sense of gratitude and affection for this great nation,” he said. “We express our sincere appreciation to the visionary leadership and rulers of the UAE for their wisdom, generosity, and gracious hospitality.”
His words for the UAE itself were as meaningful as his patriotic message. “The UAE stands as a shining example of a nation where people of diverse communities, cultures, and nationalities live together in harmony, peace, and mutual respect.”
For Salahuddin, India’s Independence Day in the UAE is not simply a celebration of one nation. It is a celebration of two, the homeland that shaped him and the adopted home that embraced him.
Jai Hind.
Arshad Raza, Contracts Manager, Alpha Island Technical Services LLC, UAE, from Amroha
Arshad Raza from Amroha brings a professional engineer’s precision and a patriot’s warmth to his Independence Day message. Serving as Contracts Manager at Alpha Island Technical Services LLC in the UAE, Raza has built his career in one of the world’s most demanding technical environments while keeping his connection to India as strong as the day he left.
On India’s Independence Day, his message was addressed to colleagues, families, and fellow Indians everywhere.
“Wishing all my colleagues and their families a very Happy Independence Day of India. On this proud day, let us honour the sacrifices of our freedom fighters and reaffirm our commitment to the values of freedom, unity, integrity, and excellence.”
He closed with a call to collective ambition that reflects the Indian overseas professional spirit at its finest.
“Together, let us continue to achieve greater heights and build a stronger, brighter tomorrow.”
Jai Hind.
Abhilash Pankajakashan, Electrical Engineer, Technical Services Company, Sharjah, from Kerala, UAE Since 2010
Abhilash Pankajakashan from Kerala represents a generation of skilled Indian engineers who have made the UAE their professional home while keeping India permanently in their hearts.
Since 2010, Abhilash has been contributing his electrical engineering expertise to a technical services company in Sharjah, one of the UAE’s most industrious and culturally rich emirates. For 15 years he has been part of the UAE’s infrastructure story while remaining deeply connected to the land of his roots.
Kerala, known as God’s Own Country, produces some of India’s most skilled and dedicated professionals. Abhilash carries that tradition with him every day he shows up to work in Sharjah, a quiet but powerful ambassador of Indian technical excellence in the Gulf.
On India’s 80th Independence Day, his presence among the voices of overseas Indians in the UAE is a reminder that India’s strength lies not just in its institutions but in the millions of individual professionals who carry its values wherever they go, from the backwaters of Kerala to the workshops and technical sites of Sharjah.
Jai Hind.
Alisa D’Souza, PR and Marketing Specialist, ALISA PR, UAE, from Mumbai
Alisa D’Souza from Mumbai brings the creative energy and professional pride of one of India’s most vibrant cities to her Independence Day message. As the founder of ALISA PR, a public relations, marketing, and communications practice in the UAE, she has built a career that represents the best of Indian professional talent in the Gulf’s competitive business landscape.
Her Independence Day message from ALISA PR was as crisp and confident as the communications professional who delivered it.
“Today, we celebrate our freedom, our unity and the incredible spirit of a nation that continues to rise and inspire.”
And her closing words carried a pride that needed no elaboration.
“Proud to be Indian. Proud to be free.”
Jai Hind.
Four Voices. One Nation. One Love.
A cultural organizer who has called the UAE home for 49 years. An engineer building his career in one of the world’s most competitive technical markets. A Kerala-born electrical engineer serving Sharjah’s industrial sector for 15 years. A communications professional representing Indian talent and creativity in the Gulf.
Four different journeys. Four different cities of origin. Four different professional paths. One consistent pride in a nation that turns 80 today.
On India’s 80th Independence Day, their voices carry across oceans to remind every Indian, at home and abroad, that the values which built this nation are the same values that can rebuild it.
The sky is the limit. But only if the flag of truth stays raised.
Their voices join the chorus of 3.5 million Indians in the UAE, all celebrating the same homeland, all carrying the same hope, all living proof that the Indian spirit travels well.
Jai Hind. जय हिंद। 🇮🇳
