Istafa Ali
Diwali is known as the “festival of lights” thanks to the practice of lighting oil lamps and decorating homes and cities with strings of twinkling lights to symbolize the victory of light over darkness. Also known as Diwali or Deepawali, is a major festival celebrated over five days in many parts of India by people of different faiths including many Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Muslims and some Buddhists. It is sometimes referred to as “the festival of lights. “Many Hindus observe Diwali by lighting small oil lamps known as ‘diyas’ in honor of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune. The lamps symbolize the triumph of light over darkness and evil.
For non-Hindus, Diwali may have a different significance. For followers of Jainism, “marks the nirvana or spiritual awakening of the spiritual leader Mahavira in 527 BCE,” Meanwhile, for followers of Sikhism, Diwali marks the day that the sixth of the ten Sikh gurus, Guru Hargobind Ji, was freed from imprisonment in the 17th century.
Although Diwali is majorly an Indian event it’s also celebrated in Pakistan. .The Sindh government had already declared Monday as a holiday for the Hindu community in all offices, autonomous, semi-autonomous bodies, corporations and local councils so there was nothing coming in the way of them and the celebrations. The modest homes lined inside the compound around the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on Monday were all lit and decorated with colorful fairy lights and clay lamps, also those battery-operated plastic lamps and candles for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights
In flooded areas of Sindh, around 500 flood-stricken Hindu families in Sukkur received gifts, food packages, hygiene kits, mosquito nets, and shoes to celebrate the religious festival. Special events for the distribution of Diwali gifts were simultaneously organized in temples across the province in Sukkur, Kandhkot, Thal, Jacobabad, Mirpur Khas, Umarkot, and Tando Allah Yar. A total of 2,000 food packages, 3,700 pairs of shoes and 2,000 mosquito nets were distributed among the families.
This emphasizes the fact that minorities are equal citizens of Pakistan and it is a message for the world. In Pakistan, all communities stand by one another during times of celebrations and sorrows.
