"Reflect on the strength of our shared light" - says Biden ::: It's Bharat's emerging "Soft Power" proof that Diwali is being linked to even Israel-Hamas crisis

US President Joe Biden extended his greetings for Diwali and urged Americans to "reflect on the strength of our shared light and embrace the enduring spirit of this holiday and of our nation".

He credited South Asian Americans for weaving Diwali traditions "into the fabric" of America and said the festival symbolises the message of seeking the light of wisdom, love, and unity over the darkness of ignorance, hate, and division.

"To the more than one billion Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists celebrating in America and around the world, we wish you a happy Diwali," said the US President.

"Today, Jill and I lit the Diya to symbolize Diwali’s message of seeking the light of wisdom, love, and unity over the darkness of hate and division. May we embrace the enduring spirit of this holiday and of our nation – and reflect on the strength of our shared light," Biden tweeted on Nov 14. 

On November 9, Vice President Kamala Harris continued the tradition with an early Diwali reception at her official residence. The event saw influential figures from the Indian and South Asian communities coming together

“It is critically important that we celebrate something like Deepawali ..it is also about shedding light and also about speaking truth.....," - US Vice President Kamala Harris said.

“President Joe Biden and I are working to support Israel’s right to defend itself,” she said at a function. 

Difficult and Dark Moment and so there's relevance of Deepawali Fest: US Vice Prez 

“We celebrate Deepawali at a time when there is a lot happening in the world. And I think it’s important that as we celebrate Deepawali which is about celebrating the light we understand, it is always the context of understanding…and there is certainly a difficult in the dark moment we are facing…in particular the reports coming out of Israel and Gaza and I know for all of us it’s devastating and heartbreaking", Ms Harris said addressing an event. 

"It was an honor to celebrate Diwali with @VP  Kamala Harris in D.C. tonight.  May your Diwali be free from darkness and abundant with light," tweeted New York State Senator Kevin Thomas.  

After Yoga received the United Nations stamp of recognition in 2014 with the proclamation of June 21 as the International Day of Yoga, it’s now Diwali — the pan-Indian popular Hindu festival — emerging as a symbol of India’s growing soft power. 

The fact of the matter also is that Yoga and Meditation emerged as soft powers in the sixties and seventies when Westerners disillusioned with their materialistic lifestyle began thronging India.

2022 Diwali Saga: 15 Lakh Diyas Lighten Up Ayodhya Marking a New Record in Guinness Book

Indian governments of the past did promote arts, culture, philosophy, sports and even cuisine as a means of global soft power, but in a more subtle manner. British playwright and screenwriter Peter Brook’s production of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata in the 1980s made it more popular in the far corners of the world than any government effort.

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have a different take. “We [Indians] can make a contribution [of India’s soft power] only when we ourselves feel proud of our culture. But if we continue to curse ourselves, then how will the world look towards us? The world is not only united by concerns of economic growth but also by human values and India can play a vital role in it,” he said in 2016.

The UN recognition of yoga came after the Modi government pressed for a resolution to that effect at the UN General Assembly. The UN Postal Administration (UNPA) also issued 10 stamps on Yoga Asanas on a single sheet to mark the International Day of Yoga in 2017.

Diwali symbolizes the spiritual victory of Light over darkness, Knowledge over ignorance and Good over evil. Essentially, it has been a Hindu festival and at best sometimes taken more as a pan-India national festival. However, during last few years even at the global stage and thanks largely to the political leadership in the US, the essence of Diwali seems to have changed. It has assumed almost a global respectability if not acceptability. And, there is less of the religious element in it.

Religious minorities such as Christians and Muslims too have been celebrating the fest. But the US gestures wherein President Joe Biden (in 2021) has led his nation into celebration by lighting lamps in Hindu traditions has brought in 'some more responsibilities' for the government of the day in India. In the past, arts, culture, music, philosophy, sports and even cuisine were made use of as Soft Power tools, but more in a subtle manner.

But now things are more open. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) link these to emergence of a 'macho Hindu only India'.

However, there has to be a crucial line of cautioning for the incumbent political dispensation in Delhi. 'Soft Power' tools by themselves cannot achieve major Foreign Policy Goals.

The acceptance of India's Soft Power tools would have greater say provided the political leadership in India learn to behave more responsibly. Acceptance of Diwali in west or in middle east now makes it mandatory to ensure that Christians and Muslims should not feel aggrieved in India.

Our goals are 'opposed' or not supposed to be opposed to the interests of these minorities or the national interests of some of these countries.

The move in the US to declare holiday on Diwali is a great decision. According to some Christians; this reflects the liberal attitude of that country’s politicians unlike the ones of "our country who chose to declare Christmas as Good Governance Day and compelled government staff to report to work on 25th December".

The Modi government made December 25 - Good Governance Day in honour of the Prime Minister's senior colleague Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was Prime Minister between 1998 and 2004.

Diwali as a festival has a strong religiosity element as the 15th day of Kartik, the holiest month in the Hindu lunar calendar, it is believed that on this day Hindu God Ram had returned 'home' at his kingdom Ayodhya from a 14-year-long exile.

Legends go that citizens in the Kingdom welcomed their virtuous prince back home as his exile too was self-imposed to uphold the family honour as was promised by his father.

"As an Indian, I have been celebrating Diwali since my childhood. It makes me feel proud that the world’s largest democratic country, the USA, has made our country’s biggest festival a holiday in their county," an eminent Christian leader had told me in 2021 in Delhi.

'Soft Power' is also not a new phenomenon to Indian culture and history. 

Theatre personality Peter Brook produced the Hindu epic Mahabharata with a universal cast in the 1980s. The great Indian epic became much popular in the far corners of the world. The international media coverage of Khumbmela is also a testimony to the admiration of Indian culture by people overseas.

 

Kumbhmela

It's also a fact that India houses all major religions of the world. Four are homegrown: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism; and notably, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam came from overseas and have flourished. 

In 2021, from US President Joe Biden accompanied by his wife First Lady Jill Biden to Speaker Nancy Pelosi everyone celebrated the festival of Light and Sound.

There are reports from time to time of enthusiastic celebrations in Muslim-dominated nations such as UAE and Malaysia as well.

To top it all, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney from New York and some of her colleagues have got into a new found mission to get a new draft law that would declare Diwali as a federal holiday in the US.

In the last century, India's Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi had his overwhelming influence when he made 'non-violence' a major tool to fight for India's independence from the British colonial masters.

In the 1960s and the 1970s, hundreds of Americans disillusioned with their westernised and 'heavily materialistic' Hippi cult,used to throng to India for Yoga and Meditation powers. These were too 'soft powers'.

However, unlike what is happening now, in both these instances, the Government of India had very little to do with their propagation of Soft Power measures. 

While Mahatma Gandhi's emphasis was also seen as a good synthesis of teachings of Buddha and Jesus Christ - that the meek shall inherit the earth or give the second cheek, in the contemporary settings the government of the day and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are more than keen to use these as tools of global influence.

One reason for such importance given to the Hindu-majority India and Indian culture and philosophies is geo-politics. In the fast emerging multipolar world, the 'largest democracy' India is bound to be a major player.

Moreover, from geo-strategic and foreign policy machinations, India has moved closer to several key world players including the likes of the US, Israel, France, Japan and Australia. It has good friends in Russia and Brazil and along with Brazil, Russia, South Africa and China, it is part of BRICS grouping that is expected to do well in the economic realm in the decades to come.

So, we have a situation wherein no important global player can ignore India. Secondly, Indian diaspora has assumed important size in countries such as the US and millions of them are now being wooed by leaders such as Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

In fact, it was Democrat, Obama, who first started the tradition of lighting the entire White House, the seat of strongest executive power under the sky, during Diwali fest in 2009. Well, that was five years ahead of Modi coming to power.

In the political sense, of course, the Congress-led coalition regime in India led by Dr Manmohan Singh did not give as much importance to religiosity. Thus even Obama had lit the White House, there was no hype or media build up back home in India.

Modi's regime firmly believes in the power of macho-Hindu Rashtra (Hindu only nation) concept. And thus recognition of Yoga and now enhanced importance being given to the Diwali festival suit Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, politically.

But in all these, there is another message. The motive of building a predefined narrative against Hindu festivals and rituals has been discounted. It is more than religion and enjoyment. Diwali has made a mark globally as a festival of share and care. People do charity work at orphanages and old age homes and this became more relevant in post-Covid world.

Others say there are merits in the Hindu rituals and practices.  Bursting of firecrackers is a matter of concern certainly. But this is when things are overdone. Otherwise, the timing of the Diwali festival in between autumn and winter is not something to be lost. The light and sound kill some seasonal bacteria in the air. People see merits in it. Dengue problem declines with the onset of winter and thiscoincides with the post-Diwali season.

The US politicians are seen as inching closer to the Asian Americans, especially  Indian American representations. 

Biden had appointed Neera Tanden as a White House staff secretary, one of the highest positions in the White House and also he has named Dr Vivek Murthy to serve on his cabinet as a Surgeon General. 

The slogan 'Abki Baar Trump Sarkar' was coined by the Republican Hindu Coalition, which had openly supported Trump and campaigned for him among the Indian-Americans. 

ends