Obama sends a video greeting.
By Sirmuk Singh Manku
WASHINGTON, DC: The Secretary of State John Kerry, the Indian Ambassador to the United States S. Jaishankar, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal and a number of Indian Americans serving the Obama administration were among the dignitaries gathered at the first-ever Diwali celebrations at the Department of State, on October 23.
Speaking on the occasion, Kerry paid tributes to various Indian communities.
“As we celebrate Diwali this evening, we also hail the accomplishments of the many hundreds of thousands of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain Americans who live now all across our country in every community,” the secretary said. “And we honor their faith and their traditions and the indispensable contributions they make every single day to our prosperity, to our freedom and to our culture, to this new chapter of American history that they are helping to write,” he said.
One of the highlights of the evening was a video greeting by President Barack Obama. Diwali is “a reminder that we must each do our part to achieve that victory, by dedicating ourselves to service to others,” the president said. “If we affirm our commitments to one another and strive to lift each other up, then together, we will continue moving closer to that brighter future we all seek.”
Pointing out that he was “proud to host the first Diwali celebration at the White House back in 2009,” Obama added, “Michelle and I will never forget the wonderful time we had celebrating Diwali in Mumbai with food, dancing, and the company of friends.”
In his brief remarks, Jaishankar thanked Kerry for hosting the event, saying that he “has raised the bar of the relationship even higher.” The ambassador said, “When I first served in Washington three decades ago, it would have been hard to imagine a gathering like this—that too hosted by the Secretary of State. That it takes place says much for our relationship today as it does indeed for our societies.”
Recalling how her family celebrated Diwali while she was growing up, Desai said, “It is particularly exciting and poignant that today we are here to see the celebration of Diwali become of a part of the tradition at the State Department.”
Priest Narayanachar of Sri Siva Vishnu Temple led the invocation and lit the diya, the traditional Diwali lamp.
The Hindu American Foundation, the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple and the Hindu American Sewa Communities Foundations helped put together the event.