Nearly 500 Indian expatriates in Sri Lanka gathered at India House to celebrate the 64th Independence Day. Amidst a small but an impressive parade by the BSF contingent on the accompaniments of the Sri Lankan Navy Band , the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Ashok K Kantha unfurled the Indian tricolor . The Indian High Commissioner read out the President of India’s message to the gathering. The occasion was marked by cultural event as well. Later, The Indian High Commissioner (HC) went to the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) Memorial and paid homage to the soldiers who laid their lives between 1987-1990 during the peace keeping operations in Sri Lanka. Two minutes of silence was observed in the memory of nearly 1200 Indian soldiers who laid their lives to protect the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.