Australia’s Indian community has once again called on people to take a day off to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali, along with Easter, Christmas and Australia Day.
The festival of lights, also known as Deepavali, will be celebrated by hundreds of thousands of Indian Australians on Friday.
Hindu Council of Australia President Sai Paravastu said the annual event should be recognized as a public holiday or long weekend across the country.
“This would give (others) the opportunity to use the one day off to understand what these people are doing and they can visit our temples to see what we are doing,” he said. Nine news.
“It gives them the opportunity to understand us better.”
Federal Labor MP for Parramatta, in Sydney’s west, Andrew Charlton backed calls for Aussies to celebrate Diwali as a public holiday in a parliamentary speech last month.
‘From Darwin to Hobart, people across Australia celebrate Diwali as one of the most joyful events of the year and the reason for that is that, behind all the color and movement, light, food and celebration, Diwali is a recognition of fundamental values. said Mr. Charlton.
The Indian community in Australia has once again called for the annual Hindu festival of Diwali to be celebrated as a public holiday across the country (Photo: People celebrating Diwali)
“It is what has made the Indian diaspora in Australia such an incredibly important part of the Australian community and that is why today is a good opportunity to recognize the importance of Diwali in the Australian annual calendar.”
Diwali is celebrated among Hindus by lighting candles and lamps outside their homes and symbolizes how light triumphs over darkness.
In India, the event usually lasts for five days and people come together to share food and gifts.
The Indian-born population is the second largest migrant community in Australia, according to Home Affairs figures.
As of June 2022, there were 753,520 Indian-born people living in Australia, more than double the number a decade earlier.
The move comes as calls continue to grow for festivals such as Eid and Lunar New Year to be recognized as public holidays to celebrate Australia’s multicultural communities.
Figures from the 2021 census showed that around ten percent of Australia’s population reported affiliation with a religion other than Christianity.
The move could see Diwali join other national holidays celebrated in Australia such as Australia Day (photo Aussies celebrating Australia Day)
A report written for the Lowy Institute indicated that including more public holidays to honor different festivals is an appropriate way to recognize Australia’s diverse communities.
“As our population becomes increasingly diverse, we should recognize many other important cultural and religious days as public holidays to reflect this change,” the report said.