About Us

The India Association of Greater Charleston is a non-profit, non-religious, and non-political organization incorporated in 1984. The membership is open to all persons interested in India. The goal of this association is to provide a forum to improve the understanding of the culture and heritage of India in the United States of America.

Prior to 1984, the Indian community used to organize annual Diwali functions in North Charleston. In 1984 at the Diwali function, Dr. Bijoy Das suggested to the community to form a formal organization to organize community events. The community overwhelmingly supported the idea and thus India Association of Greater Charleston (IAGC) came to being. Jay Patel was the first elected President of IAGC in 1985. In 1986 when Dr. Shashi Pai was the second President, the Executive Committee of IAGC chose a logo for IAGC.

The official logo of the India Association of Greater Charleston was created by Omi Hasija in 1986 and represents the assimilation of people of Indian origin into a larger entity, the United States of America. The encircling wheel is the Dharma Chakra (the Wheel of Law), which is also at the center of the Indian flag. The wheel was chosen as a symbol of the eternal law of righteousness from the Sarnath stone pillar, erected in the 3rd century B. C. by Emperor Ashoka. Dharma (cosmic law) aims at the happiness of all creatures. The eagle is derived from the official seal of the United States, and the three lions are from the official seal of India. The logo thus enlightens Americans of Indian origin about their roots and the inherent qualities they bring to the United States of America.

Office Bearers

Hari Kondaparthy
President
Hari works at CCSD in the IT field and has been living in Charleston for a few years now. He lives in Ladson with his wife and son. He is also an avid cricket player.
Rajitha Hongal
Secretary
I am a chef, wife and a mother. Originally from India (Telangana) and has been living in Charleston for quite a few years . Believes that "your life struggles do not define you but shape you to the person who you are once you have faced and overcame them ". Excited to be a part of our community and ready to serve. Namaste
Sunny Gaur
Treasurer
He works as a Marine Controls Systems Engineer at Cummins Inc. Sunny moved to Charleston in 2017 and has been in love with this great city ever since. He is excited about the growing Indian community in the Charleston area and wants to do everything he can to bring the community closer together. He loves playing Cricket and watching College Football.
Beena Parmar
EC Member
She works with the CCSD finance department and enjoys creating artwork and decor. She is glad to have this opportunity to serve the community while cherishing our great culture and heritage.
Prince Panthey
EC Member
Prince Pandhey, works at SCL-USA (TVS) in engineering department. Moved in Charleston since 2019, from Cleveland ohio. Oringn & roots are Punjab- India. Hiking, cricket ,yoga,long drive are hobbies.living in Summerville. Looking forward to serve community
Priya Shah
EC Member
She is originally from Gujarat state. She love to do dance choreography in her free time. She had lots of experience in party/events planning In past and looking forward to use same experience in serving as IAGC EC member. She believe in " Use your precious moments to live life fully every single second of every single day."

Board of Trustees

Randhir Makkar- Chairperson
Vasant Chandorkar- Secretary
Shikhar Mehrotra
Nanda Ragala
Dr. Shahid Hussain
Past Presidents
Jayanti Patel (1985-1986)
Shashi Pai (1986-1988)
Omi Hasija (1988-1990)
P.R. Rajagopalan (1990-1992)
Bijoy C. Das (1992-1994)
Raman Patel (1994-1995)
Sati Bakshi (1995-1997)
Rajesh Mathur (1997-1999)
Rajiv Gupta (1999-2000)
Pruthvi Katikaneni (2000-2003)
Latha Hebbar (2003-2005)
Dilip Purohit (2005-2007)
Vijay Shroff (2007-2009)
Monica Emmanuel (2009-2011)
Joyce Menon (2011-2013)
Nibedita Chatterjee (2013-2015)
Randhir Makkar (2015-2017)
Shikhar Mehrotra (2017-2019)
Indu Nihalani (2019-2021)
Sudha Gangaraju (2021-2023)
Hari Kondaparthy – (2023 – Present)

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