Comments on: H. RES 747

By: Lurker

Lurker — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 23:12:54 +0000

Do Hindus, Sikhs and Jains (and that subset of Muslims mentioned earlier) celebrate Diwali differently in India and abroad?

By: Varun mehta

Varun mehta — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:40:07 +0000

This is continuing to show the growing role of Indian Americans in the political realm and that they will be an important community in the upcoming 2008 election. With the US strongly pushing the 123 Nuclear Deal, Bobby Jindal winning as the first Indian Governor in the US, and IALI reporting almost a dozen Indian American Candidates nationwide. The community has a lot to be proud about but we need to move forward as a united community and issue strong responses when necessary. I still think the community needs to send a stronger message to Presidential Hopeful Fred Thompson for picking up George Allen as a national chair. Good work Abhi I wanted to tell you all about a website we have put together http://www.usinpac2008.com a full blown coverage of the 2008 Election and how it connects to the Indian American Community.

Thanks,

Varun

By: Candadai Tirumalai

Candadai Tirumalai — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:13:34 +0000

The relationship of the Abrahamic religions to what are called the non-Abrahamic faiths–Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism– is a question far more alive in America, especially among Christian conservatives, than in Britain, where church-going tends to be a minority vocation. Fundamentalist Christians see Hinduism as an idol-worshipping religion and do not see or accept that the idols are symbols or signs of the One God, or that Upanishadic Hinduism is not only monotheistic, which the Abrahamic faiths claim is their characteristic, but monistic. At any rate, the question needs to be pondered partly in a historical context.

By: Saj

Saj — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 17:58:22 +0000

Sorry, but Buddhists do not celebrate Diwali/Deepavali.

By: Amrita

Amrita — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 11:41:36 +0000

Let’s get the White House decked out in lights like Rashtrapati Bhavan.

By: ylrsings

ylrsings — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:42:30 +0000

i'm actually excited about this-- recognize my peeps, white house!!

let's push for it to be a national holiday. i'd be in to getting out of work on deepavali--

hooooraaaay festive holidays!

By: RC

RC — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:14:30 +0000

He also called upon the full House of Representatives to take up the bill as soon as possible.

So H.R. 747 is not yet passed, right??

The House could not pass that Armenian Genocide Bill today.

I think the US legislative body has no right to pass bills on someone else's actions 100 years ago while it is overseeing an illegal occupation of country. Irony of it all is lost on these law-makers.

By: Camille

Camille — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:13:28 +0000

ACFD, Sikhs do celebrate Diwali, but for slightly different reasons . For Sikhs it holds significance because it marks the day that the sixth Guruji (Guru Hargobind Ji) left Gwalior prison with 52 other princes / political prisoners. There's of course more to that backstory, but that's the basic narrative. Surprisingly, the Wikipedia explanation is pretty accurate.

The only thing I thought was a little strange about the HR was that it sets up "Indian Americans" in a way that indicates that there are no Muslims of Indian descent. Just saying.

By: Al_Chutiya_for_debauchery

Al_Chutiya_for_debauchery — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:05:35 +0000

News for you ACFD: Not only do Sikhs celebrate Diwali, so do some South Asian Muslims, especially those South Asian Muslims whose ancestors migrated out of South Asia well before the drastic communal polarization of the decades immediately before Partition - such as in South Africa, East Africa, and the West Indies.

Did not know that. Very interesting.

By: dc

dc — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 05:53:31 +0000

Unless I get the day off, this is bs…