Diwali still not a school holiday, despite NYC's surging South Asian population

Diwali celebrations began in Richmond Hill last week. Eagle photo by Christina Santucci

By David Brand

Today hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers will celebrate Diwali, the annual festival of lights observed by people of various faiths, including Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. The holiday is also a national celebration in India, Pakistan, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

But despite its importance to so many New Yorkers, Diwali is still not observed as a public school holiday here — a lack of recognition that South Asian and Indo-Caribbean New Yorkers say discounts their influence on the city and its culture.

A nearly three-year-old City Council resolution calling for a public school holiday has stalled in committee, even though it has support from 36 councilmembers.

Resolution 146, introduced by Councilmember Daniel Dromm in February 2018, would bolster their fight to recognize the Festival of Lights and foster greater cultural understanding, said Democratic District Leader Richard David.

David, who is Guyanese and was raised Hindu, said a lack of awareness about South Asian cultures and religions can lead to hate crimes. He cited a 2019 attack on a Hindu priest in Glen Oaks and a March incident where a woman set fire to Hindu flags outside the Shri Tulsi Mandir on 111th St. in Richmond Hill.

“It’s the latest example of how much this recognition would bring education and awareness,” said David, a professor of Caribbean studies at York College.

More than 330,000 New York City residents identify as South Asian, and hundreds of thousands more as Indo-Caribbean.

David said the Council should act on the resolution to further pressure the DOE to recognize Diwali as a holiday.

“We have a supermajority in the City Council. This is a no brainer and it’s also inevitable,” he said. “We have multiple mayoral candidates saying they’re going to do this in their first 100 days. It’s a historic moment for [Council Speaker] Corey [Johnson] to light the way and i think he will.”

A council spokesperson said the resolution is “going through the legislative process.”

The DOE has the ultimate authority to make Diwali a holiday. The agency did not provide a response to questions about a Diwali school holiday.