In 1976, I was just a four-year-old kid in Delhi, glued to our family’s small black-and-white television.
I remember being completely mesmerized by the grainy, flickering images of the American Bicentennial fireworks. Growing up in India, a country deeply shaped by our own monumental struggle for independence, freedom wasn't just an abstract concept – it was the very air we breathed. To my young eyes, those distant flashes of light on a static screen felt like a universal celebration of human liberty that connected us all.
Today, on July 4, 2026, as America marks its 250th anniversary, that childhood memory feels more meaningful than ever. Serving as the Chair of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, I see how beautifully our global stories intertwine. The freedom we celebrate today isn't isolated; it is a shared human journey.
We see this truth so clearly in the profound connection between Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Gandhi's philosophy of Ahimsa (non-violence) and Satyagraha – soul force born from Indian spirituality – traveled across oceans to fuel Dr. King’s fight for civil rights in America. They showed the world that true freedom is inherently spiritual, and that our diverse faiths should move us to love and justice, never division.
The American experiment started 250 years ago with a bold commitment to religious liberty. Just like India’s rich spiritual landscape, it proved that a tapestry of different faiths can flourish together. On this Semiquincentennial, let's celebrate by recommitting to deep, mutual respect.
Jai Jinendra. May peace, harmony, and understanding guide our interconnected world.
Best regards,
Nitin Ajmera, Chair
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Parliament of the World's Religions (PWR)
The Parliament of the World's Religions (PWR) acknowledges it is situated on the traditional homelands of the Bodéwadmik (Potawatomi), Hoocąk (Winnebago/Ho’Chunk), Jiwere (Otoe), Nutachi (Missouria), and Baxoje (Iowas); Kiash Matchitiwuk (Menominee); Meshkwahkîha (Meskwaki); Asâkîwaki (Sauk); Myaamiaki (Miami), Waayaahtanwaki (Wea), and Peeyankihšiaki (Piankashaw); Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo); Inoka (Illini Confederacy); Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe), and Odawak (Odawa).
PWR recognizes the region we now call Chicago remains home to a diversity of Indigenous peoples today and this land upon which we walk, live, and play continues to be Indigenous land.