(RNS) – Throughout the late Seventies within the quiet suburbs of Hamden, Connecticut, the Indian competition of Diwali hardly loved mainstream recognition. For Hindus like Rajeev Pahuja, who was born and raised in that setting, the autumn vacation season meant balancing two worlds: soccer along with his friends in school and celebrating Diwali with sparklers and his household privately.
“I didn’t get to have a good time as a lot after I was a child,” stated Pahuja, including that he and his sister grew up “fairly strong-minded” as ethnic and spiritual minorities in the US. “I’m a man who has lived my entire life as one facet being Indian, after which one facet being American.”
However in early 2024, emboldened by the seismic development of the Indian American inhabitants in his house state, Pahuja got down to change that for future generations of Indians, Hindus and all those that have a good time Diwali in Connecticut. With no prior expertise, the group chief efficiently lobbied for the state’s recognition of Diwali as a vacation, this 12 months to be celebrated on Oct. 20.
“We’re the basketball capital of the world, we’re the pizza capital of the world, and we are going to turn into the Diwali capital of the world,” Pahuja stated after Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed the invoice in June. It went into impact Oct. 1.
The hassle to realize state recognition for Diwali was an uphill battle, Pahuja stated. He needed to work round current legislative limitations and clarify to public officers why the vacation is so vital to tens of millions of Individuals. There’s nonetheless a methods to go in training and visibility, particularly in smaller states, Pahuja stated, “however I believe we’re beginning to see that, and we’re going to get higher at it.”
A Diwali celebration on the Connecticut state capitol, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in Hartford, Conn. (Picture courtesy of Rajeev Pahuja)
As comparable laws was signed this week in California, three states — Connecticut, Pennsylvania and California — have now codified Diwali as a state vacation, providing a framework for excused absences or paid go away for college students and staff who want to have a good time. Whereas it’s a primarily symbolic designation that doesn’t require colleges and authorities places of work to shut, households within the diaspora say recognizing it signifies that South Asians belong within the American mainstream.
Other than these three states, different cities and states have handed ceremonial “Diwali Day” recognitions, and within the case of New York Metropolis, public college closures.
Diwali, often known as its authentic Sanskrit type of Deepavali, is a serious vacation in Hindu and different Dharmic traditions. Typically known as the competition of lights, many Hindus have a good time Diwali because the triumphant return of Lord Ram from his victorious battle with the demon Lord Ravana, after which the residents of Ayodhya lit tons of of clay diyas, or lamps, to welcome Ram house. Different Hindus mark Diwali because the day Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura, and others regard Diwali as the beginning of a brand new 12 months introduced by Goddess Lakshmi. Jains commemorate the nirvana, or non secular liberation, of Lord Mahavira, and Sikhs have a good time Bandi Chhor Divas, when Guru Hargobind Ji was free of imprisonment alongside 52 kings.
However every celebration of Diwali exemplifies a shared theme: that gentle can dispel darkness, fact can overcome ignorance and compassion can conquer concern. In India, many kids get the week off from college, and households clear and adorn their houses, alternate presents, put on new garments and share feasts with each other.
On the alternative coast from Connecticut, California Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed Diwali recognition into state legislation, fittingly, residents stated, in time for this Diwali season. California boasts the very best inhabitants of Indian Individuals within the nation.
Samir Kalra, co-founder of the Hindu American Basis, grew up in Fremont — the East Bay Space metropolis often called a vibrant hub of Desi (South Asian) American life — celebrating Diwali along with his friends, consuming plenty of sweets and “participating the spirit of group.” However whilst distinguished as Diwali was in his hometown, the state vacation designation modifications issues, he stated.
“As a father of two younger ladies, it’s actually vital,” he stated, “as a result of now, with the state formally recognizing this vacation, we are able to go to highschool districts and attempt to get colleges to take the break day for Diwali yearly. It’s going to permit us as a household to have the ability to have a good time it with out worrying about having them go to highschool, or (having) schoolwork, or they’ve to check and miss the celebrations, or sort of should determine between the 2 and prioritize one or the opposite.”
The Hindu American Basis, a nationwide training and advocacy nonprofit, gave some institutional backing for the adoption of the vacation in all three states, principally, stated Kalra, to point out lawmakers that the payments had widespread group assist, providing testimonies by Hindu group leaders and letters to governors. The method is lengthy and winding, Kalra stated, as such payments have to be amended and handed by a number of councils, committees and flooring votes till they attain the governor.
Kalra stated the California designation is “an indication that the Hindu American group is changing into extra energetic, nuanced and complex in how they’re capable of push these initiatives past simply the ceremonial resolutions.”
“These are precise laws, and I believe that reveals that the group has come a great distance of their political savvy and class and advocacy prowess,” he stated.
In 2024, Pennsylvania grew to become the primary state to designate Diwali as an official state vacation, thanks partly to Arvind Venkat, the primary Indian American to serve in Pennsylvania’s state home and who helped write the invoice.
“After I was rising up, Diwali was an vital event, however it was one thing that was celebrated simply amongst relations and shut mates in the neighborhood,” he advised RNS. “To now see the widespread celebration of Diwali, and to see it acknowledged by governments, I believe, is basically extraordinary. And it’s an instance of our immigrant story.”
Ladies dance throughout a Diwali celebration in Pennsylvania in 2024. (Picture courtesy of Arvind Venkat)
For 3 years, Venkat has hosted a Diwali celebration for his constituents. However, he emphasised his state’s vacation win is not only for anyone group. Pennsylvania has giant Nepali and Bhutanese populations, which have their very own model of Diwali, Tihar, on the similar time.
“We’re really recognizing a standard theme in all of our communities,” he stated, “particularly right here in Pennsylvania, the place we take nice satisfaction in our founding by William Penn, and to be a welcoming place for all.”
And Indian Muslims like Razin Karu, government director of the Pennsylvania governor’s advisory fee on Asian American and Pacific Islander affairs, additionally fondly have a look at Diwali as a time for group celebration, no matter non secular background. “It’s a factor that related everybody in India,” he stated. “It’s a fantastic alternative for people to come back collectively, have some good meals and music and dance, and costume up good in colourful clothes.”
“Diwali’s message is fairly common,” he added. “It’s symbolizing the triumph of sunshine over darkness, data over ignorance, and hope over despair, and the truth that fact will finally all the time win. These are values which might be common in each civilization, each a part of the world, each faith. It’s nice that we are able to all come collectively and have a good time these values and reaffirm one another that occasions could also be darkish, conditions could get complicated from time to time, however finally, there’s hope.”
