50th Anniversary Gala - Connect India 2023 is a platform for all regional organizations and nonprofits around Minnesota, associated with the Indian community, to come together and share our mission and goals and to explore areas where we as a community can cooperate and collaborate.

Event Details
Event: 50th Anniversary Gala - Connect India
Date: April 15th, 6pm - 10pm
Location: Double Tree Hilton

7800 Normandale Blvd

Minneapolis MN 55439


Connect India 2023 is an invitation-only event.

Questions: Please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

IAM 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award & Person of the year Awards

IAM Annual Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes Individuals or Organizations for achieving excellence in their field, promoting the interests of the Asian Indian community in Minnesota, and advancing understanding between the Asian Indian community and the Minnesota community at large.

IAM Person of the Year Award recognizes individuals of Indian American origin for their achievements during the course of the year - excellence in their field, an inspirational role model for the community and significant contribution to the society at large.


Please submit your nominations here

Last Date for submit nominations: April 2nd, 2023


The winner will judged on the following 3 criteria:

  1. Dedicated service to the Asian Indian community and/or Minnesota community
  2. Excellence or innovation in their field
  3. Contribution to leadership, mentoring and grassroots initiatives

2020 - 2022 Lifetime Achievement Awards

  • IAM 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award: Shanti Shah

    Shanti Shah has been part of the Indian American community of Minnesota for 48 years.  She is known as one of the most dedicated contributors to many Indian and Asian organizations.  


    Shanti came to Minnesota with an undergraduate degree in Economics from India.  After arriving in Minnesota, she earned her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from University of Minnesota and a graduate degree from St. Thomas University.  


    Shanti has worked at several companies in the Twin Cities for over 40 years in technology and education fields.  She was also an adjunct faculty member teaching for over 25 years at the Metropolitan State University, St. Thomas and University of Minnesota. 


    Shanti is known as a tireless leader in the Indian community who has dedicated herself to establishing the recognition of contribution of the Indian community in all walks of life in Minnesota.  She has been active in Asian American community groups as well as other underrepresented community organizations.  


    As an early immigrant she was one of the founding members in establishment of several Indian organizations including the India Association of Minnesota (IAM), School of India for languages and Culture (SILC), and Jain Center of Minnesota (JCM).  


    Early on, Shanti’s passion to ensure that the Indian community is recognized by the broader community at large allowed her to partner with other organizations that linked us to other


  • IAM 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award: Dipankar Mukherjee

    Dipankar Mukherjee is a professional director originally from Calcutta, India with a 25-year history of directing. He is the Artistic Director of Pangea World Theater. He co-founded Pangea World Theater, an international theater in Minneapolis that is a progressive space for arts and dialogue. His aesthetics have evolved through his commitment to social justice, equity and deep spirituality and these factors along with relevant politics form the basis of his work. As a director, he has worked in India, England, Canada and the United States.  

     

    Dipankar has received the Humphrey Institute Fellowship to Salzburg and has been a Ford Foundation delegate to India and Lebanon. He is a recent recipient of the Bush Leadership Fellowship award to study non-violence and peace methodologies in India and South Africa. Dipankar was invited to visit the White House as part of the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Delegation. In his rehearsal and workshop practices, Dipankar’s facilitated processes that work to disrupt colonial, racist and patriarchal modalities that we have inherited and collaboratively searches for an alternate way of working.

  • IAM 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Kumar Belani


    Dr. Kumar Belani was selected by the University of Minnesota (UOM) to join the department of Anesthesiology in 1976. Here he completed his post-graduate training, obtained an M.S. in Anesthesiology. After this he was requested to set up the Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology at the University of Minnesota. To do this he completed a Fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania and returned to the UOM to establish the Pediatric Anesthesiology Division.

     

    Dr.Belani has made significant accomplishments in the field of Medicine: He has published over 115 peer reviewed manuscripts, written 30 chapters, is editor for several journals including a manuscript reviewer for several major journals. He has been an invited speaker locally, in the state, nationally and globally.

     

    He continues to be an active clinician, leader, educator and mentor and is a valuable member of the Indian community in Minnesota. He has also served as a past Director of IAM.