Indians of all ages and backgrounds gathered on Thursday to celebrate their country's independence day.
A line snaked around the Consulate General of India in Dubai by 8am as people lined up to join celebrations. Some wore orange and green bindis, or flags draped over shoulders. Others wore suits and hospital scrubs, ready to go straight to work.
Guests were treated to live singing for an hour before the white, green and saffron Indian flag was unfurled at 9am, showering rose and marigold petals on the crowd below.
India’s Independence Day is celebrated on August 15 every year and marks independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
“Independence, it was not easy,” said Kiran Wagh, a banker from the city of Nashik in the western state of Maharashtra.
Our forefathers they sacrificed a lot for our country so we should respect them
“Our forefathers they sacrificed a lot for our country so we should respect them. Here in the UAE it’s a very small celebration but in India everyone, irrespective of their earning, they are celebrating today.”
Mr Wagh planned to watch patriotic movies with his family after work. Some of his earliest memories are celebrating August 15 with his father as a child. Mr Wagh’s son is growing up in the UAE but he is determined that his son will have his own independence day memories in a few years.
“Now my child is one year old but he’s at home sleeping,” said Mr Wagh. “Once he grows up, I’ll bring him to the flag raising.”
Rochelle Pereira came with friends and her five-year-old daughter for the flag raising.
“Right from the time you’re in school is this something you would do from school so when you grow up you do the flag raising,” said Ms Pereira, 34, a UAE resident of eight years who is originally from Mumbai. “It's a simple thing but it has a lot of feeling.”
“My daughter’s been in the UAE since she was born so she sings [the UAE anthem] ishy bilady, so I’m trying to get her to learn about our national day.”
It will be a full day for the family. Ms Pereira and her family will visit the Catholic church in the evening for the Feast of the Assumption, which commemorates the ascension of the Virgin Mary into Heaven and falls on August 15.
The Hindu festival Raksha Bandhan also falls on Indian independence day this year. It celebrates sibling relationships.
The President, Sheikh Khalifa, sent a congratulatory message to the President of India, Ram Nath Kovin. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, also sent congratulations to President Kovind and to the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
Independence day has special poignance for overseas residents, said Dubai resident Dhanush Acharya.
“It’s our Independence Day and we’re away from our country so that gives us the inspiration to come and be with our countrymen today,” said Mr Acharya, 30, an assistant manager born in Dubai. “When you’re away from your place, you actually know the importance of it.”
Yet the Gulf's centuries old ties with South Asia mean the UAE can be a home away from home. Mr Acharya's friend Ashish Singh said he did not feel any of the culture shock of coming to a foreign country when he moved from Delhi to Dubai a few years ago.
“Dubai is like a mini India,” said Mr Singh, a blockchain consultant. “Every type of Indian food you want is here, the people around you are Indians, you don’t feel like you are outside India.”
He will celebrate all day long.
“I’ll be celebrating in my office. It’s multinational and I’ve got an Indian flag and I’ll stick it up. Lunch for the office is on me today. Yesterday was Pakistan’s Independence Day and they did the same for us.”
His friend smiled. “That’s the advantage of Dubai,” said Mr Acharya. “We celebrate together.”
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The biog
Date of birth: 27 May, 1995
Place of birth: Dubai, UAE
Status: Single
School: Al Ittihad private school in Al Mamzar
University: University of Sharjah
Degree: Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Hobby: I enjoy travelling a lot, not just for fun, but I like to cross things off my bucket list and the map and do something there like a 'green project'.
