INDIA'S 63RD INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS

Once again this year we are all set to celebrate our Independence Day on Sunday, 15th August 2010 from 2 pm to 4.30 pm at Woodville Town Hall, 72 Woodville Road, Woodville. The flyer giving all the details is shown below and we hope to have a large number of our community members attending. Let us come together and show spirit, patriotism and solidarity. The Town Hall has been recently renovated and besides being a majestic and a historical building it has an amazing ambiance. We have seating for 700 and let us fill up every seat. There is enough parking for everyone across the Road and behind the Building.

Welcome to the website of the Indian Australian Association of South Australia. The Indian Australian Association of South Australia, better known as IAASA, is  for those of Indian origin, or even those interested in the India, to come together under one body, to showcase Indian culture, in all its various colours hues, from the snow capped peaks of Jammu and Kashmir of the North, to the lush fields of Keral in the South. Furthermore IAASA also acts as the voice of the Indian community in talks with the political leadership of the state of South Australia.

 Please feel free to browse this site and get to know why joining IAASA is beneficial for you. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Vikram Madan, or Mr. Apurva Mishra.

IAASA's History

Genesis

The India Club of South Australia had its birth in 1967 when three Indian families (the Joshua family, the Mazumdar family and the Nayak family) proposed the idea of formation of an informal club for social interaction amongst the local Indian community, which then comprised only a few families and a handful of postgraduate students. Dr Nayak was made the convener of this Club. A simple Constitution was formulated the next year with a view to promoting the knowledge and understanding of Indian culture, and to developing a spirit of cooperation, unity and cohesion between Indians residing in South Australia and south Australians.  This was considered paramount if south Australians were to be given the opportunity to become acquainted with the culture, food, way of life and development of the Indian sub-continent.

This decision having been made, the first step was to try and spread the word, so as to enrol as many members as possible to make this a viable proposition.  This initially proved difficult, but as it gained momentum, more and more people, both South Australians and Indians residing in south Australia, applied for membership; fees were kept to a minimum to make it attractive.  It was extremely gratifying to find that South Australian were very interested in the newly formed Club, and at that time formed a sizeable proportion of the total membership.

The next step was to draw up a written constitution which would be used to determine guidelines along which the Club would operate.  Consequently, at the Annual General Meeting held in April 1971, by the democratic process, an Executive Committee was elected, consisting of five members (President, Secretary, Treasurer and two Committee members). This body was given a mandate to offer cultural, social and other recreational activities to members, and to account for receipts and expenditure of monies, and duly audited. The term of office was for twelve months, during which time the Committee, according to the Constitution, would steer the affairs of the Club, after which, at an AGM, another Executive Committee would be duly elected.

 Growth

From these early beginnings, the Club began to expand quite rapidly and it was soon realised that Club membership had been increasing very fast and hence consideration had to be given to raising the status of the India Club from Club level to that of an Association.  The proposed new Constitution would, in the main, enlarge the existing clauses and include new proposals that were felt so necessary to run an Association constitutionally. A change of name was proposed at the AGM to Indian Australian Association of south Australia, which was approved by a majority vote.  It was also agreed that the Executive Committee would have to be enlarged to include President, Vice-president, Secretary, Treasurer, Information Secretary, Cultural Secretary, Welfare secretary, and five committee members.

The Association then started functioning more and more vigorously.  The monthly newsletter started to come out, containing news and events of interest to members.  A weekly get together venue (North Adelaide Primary School) was arranged where members could meet each Sunday afternoon and read Indian newspapers and magazines over a cup of tea.  Soon, the members of the Association recognized the need for a permanent building of their own.  With this view in mind the Association embarked upon a number of money making projects like Indian food fairs, Indian cultural evenings, Indian Cooking classes, Indian Dance Drama during the Festival of Arts and so on.

Fund raising was successful and the premises in Blamey Avenue, Broadview was purchased.The Indian Australian Association of South Australia had continued in strength since,and has responded to the changing needs of the Indian community of South Australia.   While other cultural groups have been formed around common interests such as music or language, the Indian Australian Association of South Australia remains a non-sectarian Association of unity that welcomes anyone with an interest in India, whether of Indian or non-Indian origin.