HRES 548 IH
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
Recognizing the religious and historical
significance of the festival of Diwali.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 10, 2005
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. MCDERMOTT,
Mr. HOLT, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. CHANDLER, Mr.
MCCOTTER, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. STARK, Mr. MATHESON,
Ms. HARRIS, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. WYNN, Mr. CROWLEY,
Mr. LANTOS, Mr. HONDA, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr.
PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. HOYER, Mr. PUTNAM,
Mr. PALLONE, Ms. LEE, Ms. WATSON, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. ENGLISH
of Pennsylvania, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr.
ENGEL, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. CANNON, Mr.
RANGEL, Ms. BERKLEY, and Mrs. MALONEY) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Government
Reform
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the religious and historical significance of
the festival of Diwali.
Whereas Diwali, a festival of great significance to Indian
Americans and South Asian Americans, is celebrated annually
by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains throughout the United States;
Whereas there are nearly 2,000,000 Hindus in the United
States, of which approximately 1,250,000 are of Indian and
South Asian origin;
Whereas the word `Diwali' is a shortened version of the
Sanskrit term `Deepavali', which means `a row of lamps';
Whereas Diwali is a festival of lights, during which celebrants
light small oil lamps, place them around the home, and pray
for health, knowledge, and peace;
Whereas celebrants of Diwali believe that the rows of lamps
symbolize the light within the individual that rids the
soul of the darkness of ignorance;
Whereas Diwali, falling on the last day of the last month
in the lunar calendar, is celebrated as a day of thanksgiving
and the beginning of the new year for many Hindus;
Whereas for Hindus, Diwali is a celebration of the victory
of God over demonic forces;
Whereas for Sikhs, Diwali is feted as the day that the
sixth founding Sikh Guru, or revered teacher, Guru Hargobind,
was released from captivity by the Mughal Emperor Jehangir;
and
Whereas for Jains, Diwali marks the anniversary of the
attainment of moksha or liberation by Lord Mahavira, the
last of the Tirthankaras, who were the great teachers of
Jain dharma, at the end of his life in 527 B.C.: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the religious and historical significance
of the festival of Diwali; and
(2) requests the President to issue a proclamation recognizing
Diwali.
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