For the last 7 years since she took up the cause of the Diwali stamp, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., has pushed every possible button to make it happen.
She told News India Times about her efforts to get the United States Postal Service, and most of all Postmaster General Megan Brennan, to choose the “Diya” a ubiquitous Indian symbol for the stamp that will be unveiled Oct. 5 and the Indian Consulate in New York where Brennan will be present, and launched in November.
“This was the last major religion to not have a stamp,” Rep. Maloney said. “We’ve been working on it for 7 years. We legislated, we had a letter writing campaign, an online petition drive, met the Postmaster General, got support from President Obama (that finally pushed it), and obviously from Prime Minister Modi. I called every member of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee,” she recalled.
“Sometimes I thought maybe I was being too pushy and there would be a backlash. I never thought it would be so hard (to get the stamp.) The community worked hard, we all worked hard and it finally paid off. The oldest democracy is honoring the largest democracy and our great ally,” the veteran lawmaker added.
“The USPS is always looking to make money,” Rep. Maloney said. “So I argued that this would be a revenue generator – one billion people in India, plus millions around the world, and some 3 million in U.S. metropolitan areas. We have to encourage everyone to go out and buy the stamp.”
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