WASHINGTON, D.C., August 8, 2002: Possibly more than two million Hindus in America, from India, Africa, Caribbean, Fiji and native-born, now celebrate Deepavali (Diwali), the festival of lights, each year at the end of October or the beginning of November. Backed by these numbers from a 2000 census, Gary Ackerman, top Democrat on the House International Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, is advocating that the U.S. create a postage stamp to honor Deepavali. In a letter to Dr. Virginia Noelke, chairperson of the U.S. Citizens Stamp Advisory Commission, Ackerman said, “For Hindus, the holiday of Diwali is comparable in magnitude to Christmas for Christians,” Congressman Ackerman was prompted to introduce the idea of a Diwali stamp by the New York-based Federation of Indian Associations. Amitabh Sharma, president of the India-American Cultural Association in Atlanta says, “A Diwali stamp is a symbol that 2.5 million Hindus in the U.S. would be happy about. It should be welcoming — an open namaste (hands in welcome) with the diya (deepa, lamp).”
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike