Subhechcha Ganguly 
Diwali, a Hindu festival also known as the “Festival of Lights,” will now be observed as a public holiday in New York City beginning the next year.Adams made the disclosure on Thursday during a press conference. David Banks, chancellor of the Department of Education, and state assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar were also present for the announcement.
The public school calendar in New York City has Diwali in instead of Anniversary Day, which is observed on the first Thursday in June. According to CNN, the five-day holiday will begin on October 24 this year.He continued, “We’re going to encourage them to learn about what Diwali is.” In order to turn a light on within yourself, Adams said, “we’re going to have them start talking about what it is to celebrate the Festival of Lights.”
More than a billion people throughout the world participate in the celebration, which represents the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. Rajkumar, who introduced legislation to recognise Diwali, said in a press conference that “the time has come to recognise almost 200,000 New Yorkers of the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain religions who celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights.”
Legislators changed the public school calendar to replace Diwali with Anniversary Day, which is usually observed on the first Thursday in June. Diwali is not only a significant Hindu holiday; some Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains also observe it. Diwali’s date is erratic. The five-day break will begin on October 24 this year.South Asians and Indo-Caribbeans in New York have been lobbying for a school holiday on Diwali for more than 20 years.
People have said that the New York City school calendar does not have enough space for a Diwali vacation, the assemblywoman added. Rajkumar, the first South Asian American woman elected to a state seat in New York, commented, “Well, my legislation makes the room.”
