IACF celebrates

The Indo-American Community Federation (IACF), founded by Jeevan Zutshi, a long-time stalwart of the San Francisco Bay Area community, marked its 30th anniversary with an annual Unity Dinner On March 29th 2024. 

This year’s theme “Unity through Diversity: Breathing Life into Education,” focused on the importance of social and emotional learning to improve our education system, and better equip our youth for the challenges of today’s world.

Highlights

The evening began on a festive note with vibrant Bollywood dances from Aerodance and mesmerizing renditions of both the American and Indian national anthems, sung by Tania Gupta.  A brief presentation honoring 30 years of IACF was followed by an engaging presentation by 9-year-old Shyla Zutshi, entitled “Understanding Yoga.”  Next, a panel discussion moderated by attorney Anjali Zutshi highlighted the SKY Schools program, which has offered training to teachers and youth in the USA and internationally for over 20 years. The curriculum focuses on managing the mind, emotions, and stress using wellness techniques such as yoga and meditation.

Since 2008, the methods have been taught in the Western Hemisphere to over 200,000 young people and their teachers across South America, the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia.

The panel featured the Director of SKY Schools, Bill Herman, and Kasturi Basu, a principal who has implemented the program at his school.  Other panelists included the founder of Home of Hope, Dr. Nilima Sabharwal, Fremont Unified Board of Education Member Vivek Prasad, and Alameda County Board of Education member Elaine McDonald. 

Speakers

Following a dinner featuring Indian cuisine, the evening continued with several honorable speakers including Alam Khydeeja, Executive Director, California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (APIA). H.H. Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muni, Founder President of “Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti,”  served as Chief Guest. H.H. Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muni is the recipient of many awards, including ‘The National Communal Harmony Award 2010’ by the Government of India, and the ‘Ambassador of Peace Award’ at the United Nations Centre for his remarkable contributions towards world peace. A versatile thinker, writer, poet, and social reformer, Dr. Lokesh Muni has promoted the values of non-violence, peace, and cooperation in society for the last 39 years. Local Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s message of unity in diversity was the perfect keynote message for the evening.  

Over 350 members of the community attended the event.  Guests included the Mayors of Fremont, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara; Councilmembers from Fremont, San Jose, and Santa Clara; Alameda County Supervisor (CA-1), David Haubert, Santa Clara County Supervisor Otto Lee, representatives from the office e of the Attorney General of California, Congressman Ro Khanna and representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, Boards and Commissions.

Sponsors

Event sponsors included the Alameda County Supervisor (CA-1), David Haubert, Merrill Lynch Global wealth manager Deepak Ganju, Washington Hospital and Kaiser Hospital, Pannu Dental, Dr. Harmesh Kumar, Kishore Pallapothu, OFBJP, Dr. Raj Salwan, Ashok Bhat, Vin Kruttiventi (candidate for Congress), Droisys and others. 

Continuing its legacy of bringing together communities, this year’s Unity Dinner was joined by Bay area community organizations such as the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora FIIDS, FIA/FOG, Foundation for Excellence, Kashmiri Overseas Association, BAPS, Jain Center, Association of Indo-Americans AIA, IbadatKhana led by Tasawar Jalali, and Hindu American Foundation HAF.