Australia’s Indian community has renewed calls for the day off to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali, as well as 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 holiday or long weekend across the country.
“This would give (others) the opportunity to use the day off to understand what these people are doing and to be able to visit our temples to see what we do,” he said. nine news.
“It gives them a chance to understand us better.”
Federal Labor MP for Parramatta, in Sydney’s west, Andrew Charlton backed calls for Australians 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 joyous events of the year and the reason is that behind all the colour, movement, lights, food and celebration, Diwali is a recognition of fundamental values. said Mr. Charlton.
Australia’s Indian community has renewed calls for the annual Hindu festival of Diwali to be celebrated as a public holiday across the country (pictured, people celebrating Diwali)
“It is what has made the Indian diaspora in Australia an incredibly important part of the Australian community and so today is a good opportunity to recognize the importance of Diwali in the annual Australian calendar.”
Diwali is celebrated among Hindus by lighting candles and lamps outside their homes and symbolizes how light triumphs over darkness.
The event usually lasts five days in India and people gather to share food and gifts.
The Indian-born population is the second largest migrant community in Australia according to Department of Home Affairs figures.
As of June 2022, there were 753,520 Indian-born people living in Australia, more than double the number recorded a decade earlier.
The move comes as calls continue to grow to recognize festivals such as Eid and Lunar New Year as holidays to celebrate Australia’s multicultural communities.
Figures from the 2021 census revealed that around ten per cent of Australia’s population reported being affiliated with a religion other than Christianity.
The move would allow Diwali to join other national holidays celebrated in Australia, such as Australia Day (pictured, Australians celebrating Australia Day).
A report written for the Lowy Institute stated that the inclusion of more public holidays celebrating diverse 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 holidays to reflect this change,” the report states.