Brampton nonprofit MICA displayed largest Indian and Canadian flags ever in Ontario on August 15 to mark India’s 75th Independence Day
The Canadian Bazaar
BRAMPTON: My Indians in Canada Association (MICA), a Brampton Indo-Canadian non-profit, that displayed the largest Tricolour and Canadian flags here on August 15 to mark India’s 75th Independence Day, plans to hoist the Canadian flag in a park here on Canada Day next year.
Measuring 40×60 feet, these two flags were the largest ever displayed in Ontario.
“Being the 75h Independence Day, this August 15 was a very special day for us. We celebrated it by displaying the largest-ever Tricolour outside of India. The Canadian flag was also the largest ever displayed in Ontario,” said event organizer and MICA founder Ashwani Aggarwal.
Indian Consul General Apoorva Srivastava, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, MPPs Deepak Anand and Amarjot Sandhu, Brampton Board of Trade director Kanwar Dhanjal and Ontario Veterans’ Association president Brig Nawab Heer were among many people who attended the event.
Weighing over 30 kg each, the two flags couldn’t be unfurled as they needed at least 70-feet-long poles for hoisting, said Aggarwal
“But we plan to hoist the Canadian flag on Canada Day next year in Chinguacousy Park in Brampton. It will be a big event of up to 10,000 people, with stalls and all that,” he said.
“The Tricolour will be donated to some Indian city so that they can hoist it as a gift from the Indo-Canadian community,” said Aggarwal.
Set up in 2018, My Indians in Canada Association (MICA) helps the needy people in the community and new immigrants and students from India.
“Anyone new from India can approach us and we help them. We’re a non-political body aimed at bringing together all communities and promote harmony. We have entire families as our members,” said Aggarwal.
MICA responds to distress calls from people and helps them.
“There have been numerous cases where we have responded to our people in distress. We help each and everyone as our family members,” said the Brampton Indo-Canadian.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, MICA was the only organization to have masks and senitisers to distribute.
“We were the only one to have masks as our shipment arrived on March 26. We distributed up to 15,000 masks and we also did distribution through drive-ins. We never thought we will do such a thing on such a scale. It felt very good,” he said.
At the peak of the COVID pandmic, MICA also organized food deliveries to people locally and places as far as Waterloo. “We took goods and food in vans to deliver thse to Indian international students in Canada,” said Aggarwal.
Aggarwal, who is one of the three directors of MICA, said the organization pays for all its expenses. “We charge $50 per family for membership.”
MICA’s Christmas and New Year celebrations are its biggest event.
“This is a meet-and-greet event for our Brampton Indio-Canadian families of this growing organization,” he said.
