The years of advocating for Diwali to be declared an official school holiday in New York City has come to a fruition. Mayor Eric Adams’ message, “Diwali will be a public school holiday in New York City starting 2023”, to a diverse populace of over 2,00,000 Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs has ignited fireworks in the Big Apple though Diwali 2023 is a few months away from now.
Amid beats of festive music produced by various Indian musical instruments, Indian American Jenifer Rajkumar announced the unanimous passage of her bill in the New York State Assembly and the Senate on June 26. It is Jenifer Rajkumar who led the movement to put Diwali on the list of New York City school holidays. She tweeted, “I was proud of lead and win this fight. I said I would do it and I did!” Since she broke the news on Twitter, congratulations and heartwarming ‘thank you’ notes have been pouring in for her.
“This is an educational moment because when we acknowledge Diwali, we are going to encourage Children to learn about Diwali. We’re going to have them start talking about what it is to celebrate the festival of lights, and how to turn the light on within yourself. I learned so much about Diwali and what the festival of lights means,” said NYC Mayor Eric Adams. He tweeted, “I’m so proud to have stood with Jenifer Rajkumar and community leaders in the fight to make it happen. I know it is a little early, but Shubh Diwali.”
“New York City, the most diverse cultural capital of America, hosts Indian Independence Day and Diwali events with pomp at Times Square every year. So diverse is the social fabric of the Big Apple that over 42% of the school goers come from ethnic households where English is the second language. The Empire City has been home to the booming Indian community since before JJ Singh, a businessman from Punjab, got Indian immigrants’ right to naturalized US citizenship recognized by President Harry Truman’s approval to the Luce-Cellar Act, 1946 that further led to the removal of the quota on Indian immigration to the US in the 1960s,” said Sourav Agarwal, the Editor of Travel Beats, a leading community portal for Indians in the US.
However, Jenifer Rajkumar’s bill for Diwali as a school holiday in New York City is to be signed into law by New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul. Little room is left for another school holiday on the NYC school calendar, as 180 days of school attendance is compulsory. Both NYC Mayor Eric Adams and NY Assemblymember Jenifer are confident that the Brooklyn-Queens Day (Anniversary Day) will be removed to accommodate Diwali on the list of NYC school holidays.
“Our time has come. For over two decades, South Asians and Indo-Caribbeans have been fighting for the Diwali school holiday in New York. I stand firm with them and for their mission. And we are finally going to realize that goal,” said Jennifer Rajkumar, the first Indian American woman in the New York State Assembly. She added, “Diwali is a celebration of the Hindu principles of interfaith, harmony, love, peace, and tolerance. The same principles had inspired Martin Luther King, the great American civil rights hero.”
New Jersey is more liberal than New York as far as Indian immigrants’ right to having a school holiday on their religious festivals is concerned. New Jersey school holiday lists incorporated as many as 19 major Hindu festivals including Diwali, Pongal, Onam, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra, Guru Purnima, Makar Sankranti, Raksha Bandhan, and Maha Shivaratri. Before Jennifer Rajkumar, Indian American Senator Kevin Thomas sought an amendment to the New York school holiday lists so that Diwali, Onam, and Vaisakhi could be accommodated for Indians across the state in his bill S4038.
“We’re happy for our customers from New York City, who celebrate Diwali away from their extended family, friends, and relatives in India. Many Indian families travel to India during the Christmas Holiday season. Having a day off for Diwali, children of Indian households in the Big Apple will be able to spend the day learning the significance of the festival of lights,” said the chief customer relations officer of Indian Eagle Travel, a most trusted air-ticketing partner of Indians in America.
