St. Clair - Superior in Cleveland in Cuyahoga County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Federation of India Community Association

Photographed by J. J. Prats, April 5, 2019

1. Federation of India Community Association Marker

Inscription. In 1962, Asian Indian students of Case Western Reserve University started India Association of Cleveland (IAC). In 1967, IAC started a newspaper "LOTUS," regarded as the first such Asian Indian community newspapers in the United States. In 1978, IAC started a community center to be owned and managed by a new organization: India Community Center (ICC), the first such facility established by Asian Indians in Ohio. In 1980, IAC and ICC merged and formed the Federation of India Community Associations (FICA). Other associations representing the various states and interests in India became Federation members.

Erected 2003 by The Ohio Bicentennial Commission, the Federation of India Community Association, and the Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 68-18.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Asian Americans • Charity & Public Work • Communications • Education • Fraternal or Sororal Organizations. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1962.

Location. 41° 31.415′ N, 81° 37.436′ W.

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Marker is in Cleveland, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. It is in St. Clair - Superior. It is on Martin Luther King Junior Drive south of Saint Casimir Way, on the right when traveling south. It is in the India Cultural Garden in Rockefeller Park. There is curb-side parking near the marker. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cleveland OH 44106, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ohio’s Lake Erie Shore

and in the Western Reserve.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Artistic Traditions (here, next to this marker); Leadership (here, next to this marker); Legacy (a few steps from this marker); Universal Brotherhood (a few steps from this marker); Modern India (a few steps from this marker); Connections

Photographed by J. J. Prats, April 5, 2019

2. Federation of India Community Association Marker

(a few steps from this marker); James Mercer Langston Hughes (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cleveland.

More about this marker. This marker was originally placed at 12412 Cedar Road in Cleveland Heights, the location of the Indian Community Center. It was near these map coordinates: 41° 30.059′ N, 81° 35.648′ W. It was moved to the Cleveland Cultural Gardens at Rockefeller Park after the center closed.

Also see . . . Federation of India Community Associations website. (Submitted on April 7, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio.)

Marker at its original location image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Christopher Busta-Peck, April 4, 2008

3. Marker at its original location

12412 Cedar Road was the India Community Center, now the Cleveland Heights Church.

India Cultural Garden image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, April 5, 2019

4. India Cultural Garden

The marker is out of frame on the right.

Mahatma Gandhi image. Click for full size.

2005 bronze by Gautam Pal, photographed by J.J. Prats, April 5, 2019

5. Mahatma Gandhi

This 10 foot tall bronze was created by sculptor Gautam Pal in Kolkata India. It was unveiled in 2005. His name is carved on the front of the dark granite base. It is inscribed on the back with “A gift to the City of Cleveland by the families of Chittaranjan & Ninha Jain and Ashok & Rajanee Shendufe in grateful recognition of the opportunity it provided to the ethnic immigrant communities from around the world.” The inscription on sides read

“Ahisma (non-violence) is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier that the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man. — Mahatma Gandhi”

“I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the culture of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any. —Mahatma Gandhi”

Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 7, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. This page has been viewed 2,521 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 21, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 3. submitted on April 7, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. 4, 5. submitted on May 21, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.