How UC Berkeley students celebrated independence

What does it feel like to be free? To win self-rule after centuries of colonial rule?

I came across this striking article about UC Berkeley students from India and Pakistan celebrating the birth of their new countries together on August 15, 1947. The smiles on their faces are infectious.

It’s easy to dismiss Indian and Pakistani independence days as jingoistic exercises, but this photo is a reminder of the collective joy of the day when over four hundred million people emerged from colonial rule.

Source: “Birth of New Nation Feted By Indian Students at UC”, The Berkeley Gazette, Berkeley, California, Mon, Aug 18, 1947, Page 11

Birth of New Nation Feted By Indian Students at UC

A new nation is represented at International House. Some 65 Indian students played hosts there Friday night in celebrating the birth of the new dominions under Free India-Pakistan and the Union of Indian Republics.

Consuls from Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, the USSR, Great Britain and France, as well as practically all of the Latin American countries, were among the guests.

Speakers included George Wilkinson, British scientist who did atom bomb research in Canada; Amionul Islam, representing Pakistan; and Ajai Mitra, president of the Hindustan Students Association on the campus.

The national anthem of the Indian Republic was sung by Mitra, S. Balaraman, Hari Vaswani, Harder Singh, and S. Krishnamurthy.

Two new flags were unfurled in International House for the first time — a white crescent and star on a green field, the colors of Pakistan, and the orange, white, and green stripes with the wheel of life, the emblem of the new Union of Indian Republics.

Indian coffee, tea, and pastries were served.

PHOTO CAPTION: Indian students at the University of California are happy today with the knowledge that their country is free. At a celebration marking the birth of Pakistan and the Union of Indian Republics these three from India served on the reception committee; left to right, Santokh Singh Gill, specializing in irrigation: Motee Jactiawie, mechanical engineering student who expects to build ships, and Hari Vaswani, working for her doctor’s degree in education.