US President Joe Biden hosts grand Diwali celebrations at White House
President Joe Biden
United States President Joe Biden, on Monday (Oct 28)celebrated Diwali at a grand event hosted at the White House. The event was attended by over 600 prominent Indian Americans including Congress members, officials and industry leaders, reported news agency PTI.
“As President, I have been honoured to host the biggest Diwali receptions ever at the White House. To me, it means a great deal. As Senator, Vice President, and President; South Asian Americans have been key members of my staff," Biden said while addressing the guests at the White House.
“From Kamala to Dr. Murthy to so many of you here today, I'm proud that I kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America,” he added.
Also read |How US presidential elections in 2020 led to Capitol attack which sent democracy into throes?
Various eminent personalities including Indian American youth activist Shrusti Amula, Vice Admiral Vivek H Murthy, and the US surgeon general addressed the crowd at the vibrant celebrations. A recorded video of Diwali wishes from NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams, who is stuck in space at the International Space Station (ISS), was also played at the event.
However, Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Dr Jill Biden did not take part in the celebrations due to campaigning obligations ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
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While highlighting the diversity in American democracy Biden said, “This is not my house; this is your house... In a country as diverse as ours, we debate, we dissent, but we never lose sight of how we got here and why.”
He recalled the previous Diwali celebrations at the White House in 2016 and said that a “dark cloud formed from hate and hostility toward immigrants, including South Asian Americans,” which has once again returned in 2024 like before.
Biden lit adiya in the Blue Room of the White House and acknowledged the role of the South Asian American Community in America.
“On this day in America, we think about that journey of light. Early in our nation's founding, a generation before diya, in the shadow of suspicion, now in a time Diwali is celebrated openly and proudly here in the White House,” the US president said.
(With inputs from agencies)
