Dear Editor,
Guyanese Americans I have spoken with are proud and thrilled that their President, Barack Obama, has lit a diya to celebrate Diwali. His presence at Diwali and the lighting of diya is the first for a sitting President.
Incidentally, Diwali was celebrated on Saturday evening with a motorcade and parade that attracted 5,000 and a Diwali Nagar in Jamaica, Queens, at the American Sevashram Sangha, that attracted several hundreds.
Although President Bush was the first American President to introduce Diwali at the White House in 2003, he always “absented” himself from the celebrations leaving a senior staff or Cabinet Secretary to light the traditional diya and host dinner for the hundreds of guests. President Bush had several aides of Hindu background who lobbied for the introduction of Diwali at the White House. Bush received tens of millions of dollars for his election campaign from Indians and acquiesced to their request for Diwali at the White House.
Obama became the first President to personally grace the lamp lighting ceremony for Diwali. Like Bush, Obama has dozens of aides who are Hindus who also contributed tens of millions of dollars to his campaign for Congress and the White House. Obama is familiar with Diwali because he shared dorm space with and had Hindu friends at Harvard and Columbia Universities. In lighting the “diya”, Obama is showcasing America’s multi-cultural background. It is also a welcome gesture to Indians worldwide for support for his programmes. The President is seeking India’s assistance in the war against terror. He has invited Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh to be his first state dinner guest on November 24. The President was impressed with Singh’s presentations at the G-20 summits at London and Pittsburgh and tendered the invitation to host him at the White House. Singh is a former Professor of Economics at both Oxford and Harvard and world leaders normally defer to him on economic matters at their summits.
For Diwali, Obama is reported to have said: ‘’This coming Saturday, Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists, here in America and around the world, will celebrate this holiday by lighting Diyas, or lamps, which symbolize the victory of light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. And while this is a time of rejoicing, it’s also a time for reflection, when we remember those who are less fortunate and renew our commitment to reach out to those in need.’‘
Obama used the Diwali ceremony to sign an executive order re-establishing the President’s advisory committee and White House initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The President shared a box of mithai to the 150 in attendance.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
