Our Bureau
Orange County, CA
Around 50 students, faculty and staff came to watch the flag hoisting at Chapman University’s International Peace Plaza on Jan 25. “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. “(This) is a historic occasion and India is the world’s largest democracy.”
Chapman University has over 80 countries represented in its student body, according to spokesperson Rachel Morrison. 13% of Chapman students are from India. 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 US-Indian trade with previous US Ambassador Kenneth Juster, and a panel discussion on India and US trade with nonprofit The IndUS Entrepreneurs.
Chapman University received recognition from former LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, the US Ambassador to the Republic of India, with a video congratulating Chapman University for these events. “We are witnesses of India thriving as a nation, but we’re also participants in the amazing growth of the United States and India partnership,” Garcetti said in the video. “Today, our U.S.-India partnership is broader, it’s deeper, and it’s more significant than it has ever been before.”
Shukla, who has been a professor at Chapman for 39 years, said that Chapman University’s mission is to “provide personalized education of distinction that leads to inquiring, ethical and productive lives as global citizens. It is important for our students, who strive to be global citizens, to learn about India’s business, economics, political, and cultural global impacts,” he said.
Orange County itself has a thriving Indian community, with Irvine having the highest population of Asian Indian residents, according to the latest US Census data from 2020. The cities of Anaheim, Tustin, and Buena Park each have the next highest populations of Indians.
