There are many ways to look at Diwali as a festival.
At the global stage or say in the US; Diwali is not a federal holiday. However, several US provinces have granted it official state-level recognition or holiday status:
• California: Became the third state to formally recognize Diwali as a state legal/public holiday
• Pennsylvania: ... Connecticut: Recognized Diwali as an official state holiday.
New York: Offers official school holiday recognition in New York City and specific high-population districts. New Jersey and select high-population districts in states like Texas also recognize Diwali through school closures or local observances.
More than creating 'segments' like Hindu culture or fest, certain things are emerging now as a global phenomenon.
The timing of Diwali festival in between autumn and winter is not something to be lost. The light and sound kill some bacteria in the air - that's for the rational school; and in pursuing this argument, one knows the problems lay in overdoing things.
Bursting of firecrackers would have been pleasant and a tasteful experience had not this become a symbol of showmanship. If firecrackers are bad for the environment, so is gambling and the so-called gift-exchange culture of Delhi for human behaviour. Here too, the problem is in overdoing things; not ordering a blanket ban as a presumed corrective strategy.
The global recognition by the UN and ongoing craze for Yoga and a renewed zeal for festivals such as Deepawali have some messages. Of these, the big picture message is - the international game can be no longer about pushing a single-agenda item. Soft power games also means persuasive diplomacy. It may be out of the box, but not something to be dismissed as out of the blue. Life is often like standing in the dusk, to use poetic jargon.
It is all about optimism. Optimism leads to patience.
Sometimes, the biggest battles people face are not against other people but against the inner weaknesses.
Hence, there is an underlining message when it is argued that just as a lamp dispels darkness without making much of a show or a noise, greater self-awareness can dispel ignorance.
Lord Ram’s victory over Ravan symbolises the triumph of righteousness over wrong. But its message extends beyond the battlefield.
On to a different plane, but not so different as well. Statesmanship, mutual benefits, and strategic significance, not necessarily in that order, decide foreign policy ball games in the contemporary settings.
Therefore, it is time to add 'Soft Power' as a major tool. Under Modi Govt; it is true this emphasis is bigger and more thrustful especially in the post pandemic era and in a year of Iran war.
Look at the US mandate of mid-term polls 2026. War mongering and a political war has been rejected. Within our own lives, we may face conflicts between what is right and what is convenient, between duty and desire.
In modern context, comes a battle between wisdom and impulse.
The most successful ambassador of India’s soft power image has been Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of non-violenct struggle.
Yoga and meditation emerged as soft powers in the sixties and seventies when Westerners disillusioned with their materialistic lifestyle began thronging India. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi succeeded in making June 21 as the International Day of Yoga.
After yoga received the United Nations stamp of recognition; it has been Diwali — the pan-Indian popular Hindu festival.
In 2025, 'The New York Times' wrote an article - "Why do more people seem to Be celebrating Diwali?"
And it also added : "The South Asian festival of lights is becoming more popular in Western countries, where millions of people have immigrated from India in recent decades." Is it allergic to use the word 'Hindu' ? Nevertheless, it is a Hindu festival -- one likes Modi or hates him !
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Nevertheless; the New York Times reports shares a story.
Yogesh Patel, 69, has always celebrated Diwali — as a boy in Kenya, as a teenager in Zambia and as an adult in Britain. But until recently, he had not celebrated with so many white people. Over the past several years, large numbers of visitors have traveled to see the marbled Hindu temple that rises above the marshes of northwest London, where Patel has been a volunteer for about four decades.
They arrive by the busload from schools and foreign countries like Germany and Spain, he said. This Diwali, he expects even more curious — and hungry — visitors to join the crowds of about 30,000 Hindus praying and feasting at the temple.
“Non-Hindus visit us during Diwali to see the spectacle,” he said. They’re drawn to the fireworks that explode over the temple’s white spires, to the stalls full of samosas and to the saffron marigold garlands that dangle in front of jewel-encrusted shrines.
On Diwali itself, people wear their best attire — often new saris made from sumptuous fabrics and beads — and gather with family and friends. They buy sweets, called mithai, and give them to everyone: family members, neighbors, clients and friends.
Sometimes the same Soanpapri box gets passed around 15 times. This happens in Delhi, it happens in NCR and even in London it seems.
Diwali is a celebration of light — symbolically and literally. It celebrates the triumph of good over evil, justice over tyranny, knowledge over ignorance. It should also means 'defeat' of everything artificial and fake.
In Indian context - I say --- 'fake secularism' is Sickularism. We still ought to fight some of the menaces.
ends
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