The aim of the society is to foster the advancement of Indian tradition, language and literature and also to promote and develop multiculturalism philosophy influencing activities and structures within NZ society. In the 1980s, there were far fewer people of Indian descent in the Waikato. There were a number of Indian organisations, each celebrating Diwali in their own group, usually at a community or school halls. The idea of celebrating Diwali together in the Waikato, was initiated by Pankaj Duggal, Indar Singh and Rakesh Jogia. Others on the committee included Ashwin Gulab, Lester Silver, Amu Upreti, Ramend Charan, and Harbains Singh Randhawa. First meeting was at Clarance Street Community Centre. A stirring committee was formed to celebrate Diwali. Aswin Gulab was appointed interim chairman, Punkaj Duggal was responsible for producing Diwali program. The original name of the group was the Diwali Cultural Committee. Punjabis, Guajarati, Sri Lankan, Indo Fijians and Kerela communities were invited joined in. Society’s Name
In 1997 the Diwali Cultural Committee name was changed to Waikato Indian Cultural Committee. Before being incorporated in 2005 the name of the society was changed to Indian Cultural Society [Waikato] Inc. First Diwali
On October 21, 1990, the first annual Diwali Celebration was celebrated at the Founders Theatre, and has been celebrated every year since. Diwali celebration was an incredible time of excitement, when the whole community got together, the performers, the parents, the extended family & friends, the organisers and the amazing cooks headed by Indar Singh and his wife Prakash Kaur Singh. Food was distributed in the theatre foyer headed by Sachin Lal. Sharing delicious food has been a big part of the celebrations. Objective of the Society
The aim of the society is to foster advancement of Indian tradition, language and literature and also to promote and develop multiculturalism philosophy influencing activities and structures within NZ society. Other Prominent People in formation
Later years others joined - B B Singh, Kamala Devi Devi, Tilk Chandra, Amrik Singh Judge, Vijay Sharma, Madanjeet Singh Bange, Late Hardev Singh Kung, Mohammed Hassan, Dinesh Patel, Jiwan Singh Dhaliwal, Manjit Singh Rehal, Ram Vilash, Nagan Suppiar, Dr Rajan and Sam Mudaliar. Society Incorporated
On August 30th 2005, the original Indian Cultural Society [Waikato] was incorporated. Signatories to incorporate the society were H S Dhaliwal, Harkrishen Singh Kung, Sardool Singh Bains, SGS Bains, Paul Singh Bains, BB Singh, Kamla Devi Singh, Harbans Singh Randhawa, Iqbal Singh Sandhu, Jasbir Singh, Dinesh Patel, Tejinder Singh Virk, Surjeet Singh, Ranjit Lal and Nirmala N. For the last 25 years the society has been promoting Indian culture and custom through Diwali Celebration. From a small beginning the society has grown from strength to strength, catering for more than thousand people at Diwali celebrations in Waikato. Current [2015] Office Bearers
The current [2015] members of the society are Harkrishen Singh Kung QSM JP [Immediate Past President], Davider Kaur Khalsa JP [President], Jujhar Singh Randhawa [Vice President],
Indar Singh [Secretary], Tejinder Singh Virk [Treasurer] Sachin Lal [Acting Secretary] Other members of the committee are BB Singh, Hajari Singh Thakur, Hari Singh Dhaliwal JP, Jasbir Singh, Kamla Devi Singh, Sarbit Kaur Bains JP, Rupinder Singh Virk JP, Sardool Singh Bains, Sukhdeep Singh, Surinder Singh Atwal, Surjit Kumar, Paul Singh Bains and Damarjeet Bains
25th Anniversary Celebration
This year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Indian Cultural Society [Waikato] Inc. on Saturday 14th November 2015. We thank people who had the vision to celebrate Diwali and promote Indian culture, custom and tradition. The Society is proud that Diwali celebrations have gone from strength to strength.
