Since the year 2000, Indian-Americans from all walks of life pursued the United States Postal Service to issue a stamp commemorating Diwali, the festival of lights that hundreds of millions of Hindus, Jains and Sikhs observe around the world.
That hard-fought campaign paid off Aug. 23, when the USPS said it would recognize the Festival of Lights with a stamp to be issued Oct. 5. The stamp will feature a traditional ‘diya’, or oil lamp, and will be a ‘Forever’ stamp, the kind that never decrease in value, no matter when they are used. The U.S. Postal Service currently issues commemorative stamps for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Eid, Lunar New Year, and Christmas.
The victory is no small feat as the USPS receives approximately 40,000 suggestions for stamp ideas annually from the public of which approximately 25 topic suggestions for commemorative stamps are selected by the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) for the Postmaster General’s approval.
“We began petitions to the USPS in 2000,” Dr. Shailendra Kumar, a urologist from Maryland and avid stamp collector who noticed that USPS had issued stamps on almost every other major religion’s festival, barring Hinduism.
Several Indian-Americans immediately set up the Committee for Diwali Postage Stamp, approached numerous channels and wrote umpteen letters to USPS and others, create a buzz around the issue; volunteers fanned out to various events, from wedding to major conferences, to get petitions signed. The issue limped forward sometimes subsiding into the ether, at other times emerging, but usually on a backburner to other pressing issues of the day.
An electronic petition drive initiated in 2008, garnered some 300,000 signatures, Kumar said. Ivy League professors like Sugata Bose, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen were approached to raise the issue with Harvard Professor Robert Louis Gates, a member of the exclusive, highly autonomous, and almost secretive CSAC, to push the cause, but to no avail. Ambassadors and administration officials were tapped on it to raise awareness.
With the rising influence of the Indian-American community in the administration and in political circles, several U.S. lawmakers including former Reps. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, Paul Sarbanes, D-Maryland, Al Wynn, D-Maryland, leaders of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, like Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., and more recently Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., Ami Bera, D-California, and Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., joined the cause. Grassroots organizations from coast to coast carried on efforts including the Indiaspora of California, the Hindu American Foundation, and the Diwali Stamp Project in New York chaired by Ranju Batra.
Resolutions and bills have been introduced relating to the stamp for close to 15 years, but results were slow in coming. “Every few weeks we would write to the USPS asking for an explanation on why it was taking so much time,” Dr. Kumar said.
The decisive moment that may have turned the tide was the 2014 White House Diwali dinner attended by President Obama. In his introductory speech, Democratic activist Shekar Narasimhan broached the president about the stamp. President Obama turned to one of his aides and asked him to look into the matter, recalls Dr. Kumar. The goal of the stamp came closer to reality.
This Aug. 23, when Rep. Maloney was joined by Consul General of India in New York Riva Ganguly Das, Batra and others, it was the culmination of a long and arduous campaign.
“Today marks a triumph that truly exemplifies the meaning of Diwali,” said Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney in a statement. “After many years, Diwali has finally received its own commemorative stamp, rightfully joining the ranks of other major religious and cultural holidays such as Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Eid.”
“Our community’s wishes have been granted,” Kumar said. “It’s only fair that our contributions are recognized through this stamp representing the culture and such universal ideas such as the victory of good over evil, light over darkness,” he added.
The Hindu American Foundation took credit for the victory with its year-long advocacy on Capitol Hill. It also praised the efforts of Senators Mark Warner, D-Virginia, John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Reps. Crowley, Ed Royce, R-California, Bera, and George Holding, R-North Carolina. “HAF is proud to have been a part of what truly was a grassroots community effort,” said Suhag A. Shukla, HAF executive director and legal counsel, adding that the stamp ackowledges the strength America draws from its diversity.
Congratulations poured in from numerous lawmakers who were part of the campaign and recognized the grassroots efforts of the community. Rep. Bera, co-chair of the India Caucus said he was ‘thrilled” with the stamp announcement. “Nearly a billion people around the world celebrate this Festival of Lights, including 2 million right here in the U.S., and this stamp represents the hard work and achievements of all Indian Americans,” Bera added.
“I’m thrilled that Diwali will finally be recognized for the important role it plays in the fabric of our nation,” said Rep. Meng in a statement.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, the only Hindu Congresswoman, congratulated the grassroots efforts. “This has been a long and arduous process but this act by the U.S. Postal Service to recognize this special day and to further increase and enrich our nation’s tapestry of religious and cultural diversity will be greatly appreciated by many,” Gabbard said.
Sally Andersen-Bruce of New Milford, Conn., photographed the Diya. Greg Breeding of Charlottesville, Va., designed the stamp and William J. Gicker of Washington, D.C., served as the project’s art director, the USPS said in its press release.
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