Indian community marks 79th Independence Day with pride 

By Kingsley Webora TANKEH

The Indian community and mission in Ghana, dignitaries and friends of India converged at India House in Accra to celebrate India’s 79th Independence Day. Echoing the national theme for this year’s independence day – ‘Naya Bharat’ – the celebration included flag unfurling, cultural performances and served as a platform for the Indian diaspora to reconnect and rejuvenate national pride.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr. Manish Gupta, underscored the celebration’s essence – stressing that India’s “impressive saga of economic growth” since independence is worth celebrating. “Earlier this year, our country became the fourth-largest economy in the world. We are the fastest-growing major economy,” he added.

He paid tribute to India’s founding fathers and freedom fighters, especially Mahatma Gandhi, whose philosophy of non-violence laid the foundation for the country’s prosperity, regardless of geopolitical dynamics.

After hoisting the tricolour Indian flag to full-mast, Mr. Gupta descibed it as “a symbol of our identity, our freedom, our unity and it is our pride”. He extended warm Independence Day wishes to all, marking the 79th anniversary with a blend of national pride and a reflection on shared history with Ghana.

However, the celebration coincided with a state burial ceremony for 6 of the 8 gallant patriots who perished in the helicopter crash on August 6. The congregation observed a minute of silence for their departed souls.

This patriotic activity underscored India’s incredible journey from August 15, 1947 when it gained independence from the British, inspiring liberation movements that swept across Africa and Asia. This cascaded on to Ghana becoming the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence in 1957 – exactly 10 years later.

Espousing the non-violence philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah – who led Ghana’s independence movement – quickly joined hands with the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and a host of other leaders to form the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in 1961. NAM serve to promote decolonisation, oppose racism and advocate for disarmament.

India and Ghana share a long-standing history of cordiality and cooperation dating back to pre-independence days. In 1953, india opened an Accra consul­ate before establishing full-fledged diplomatic relations in 1957 immediately after independence.

This consolidated the two non-aligned nations relationship. However, over the years the two countries have strengthened the foundation laid by their founding leaders, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Jawaharlal Nehru, furthering their bilateral relationship through political soli­darity, trade and investment and South-South cooperation.

Following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark visit to Ghana in early July this year – the first in three decades – bilateral relations between the two non-aligned nations has been elevated to a comprehensive partnership. “This speaks volumes about the deep historical linkages we share with Ghana,” Mr. Gupta stated, adding that it “augurs very well for our trade, investment and development partnership”.

Ghana being the first of such designations in the whole of West Africa is emblematic of warm bilateral ties between the two Global South countries.

However, this upgrade opened up avenues for lines of credit, grants and technical cooperation. Ghana’s lines of credit exceeded US$450million over the past two decades. According to the Foreign Minister, trade volumes stood at US$3billion as of July 2025, partly due to a surge in gold exports to the South Asian superpower. India is one of the larg­est importers of Ghanaian gold. This signals renewed trade vigour between India and Ghana after a pre-pandemic peak of US$4.5billion.

Mr. Gupta expressed gratitude to the Indo-Ghanaian community for its contributions to deepening the two countries’ trade relationship.  “We are proud of you. We are proud of your achievements,” Mr. Gupta said. “The Prime Minister’s visit was also a recognition of the Indo-Ghanaian community’s contributions over here… I applaud each one of you.”

The Head of  India’s Mission in Ghana rallied all the attendees, saying: “Come, let us all  move forward together with this glorious saga of India and realise our dream of becoming a developed India after 100 years of independence”.

India has over the years supported Ghana in its development journey. Projects financed through Indian lines of credit and grants continue to shape Ghana’s development. These include the construction of Jubilee House – seat of the President of Ghana; Kofi Annan ICT Centre of Excellence; Komenda Sugar Factory; and the Tema-Mpakadan Standard Gauge, just to mention a few.

The post Indian community marks 79th Independence Day with pride  appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.

Read Full Story