PARSIPPANY — More than 1,300 American flags, surrounded by Indian tricolors, were arranged at Veterans Memorial Park to form the number “250,” earning a Guinness World Record for “Largest Flagpole Number” and marking both India’s 80th Independence Day and the 250th anniversary of the United States.
The event, held Saturday, was organized by the Consulate General of India in New York in partnership with the Federation of Indian Associations NY-NJ-NE, with support from the technology company Zoho. It drew members of the Indian-American community along with elected officials and business and community leaders.
New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell, U.S. Congresswoman Analilia Mejia, Consul General of India in New York Binaya Srikanta Pradhan and Parsippany Mayor Pulkit Desai addressed the gathering.
“It was an honor to join the Indian community in Parsippany to celebrate India’s 80th Independence Day and witness history in the making,” Desai said. “Together, the community set a Guinness World Record for the ‘Largest Flagpole Number,’ with more than 1,300 flags coming together to form ‘250’ to honor America’s semiquincentennial anniversary. What an incredible display of community, pride, and friendship between India and the United States.”
Organizers described the display as a tribute to the connection between the two nations’ milestone anniversaries. “Held at the intersection of India@80 and America@250, the event was a memorable expression of India-US friendship and of the Indian-American community’s enduring contribution to bringing the two nations and their peoples closer together,” organizers said in a statement.
The record-setting event was one of several programs held across the New York tri-state area to mark India’s Independence Day.
