Transcript: Mayor Adams Hosts Annual Reception Celebrating Diwali

October 17, 2023

Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW1dQkNt93I

Deputy Commissioner Dilip Chauhan, Trade, Investment and Innovation, Mayor's Office of International Affairs: Are you excited! How many of you are first time at the Gracie Mansion? Wow! Now, I would like to introduce two people who made New York City Diwali declared as a holy day in public school. We were waiting since last 20 years. You all have worked hard to recognize this celebration. Without further ado, I would like to just say two words about our Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar.

Jenifer Rajkumar, she's a proud Hindu American Assemblymember from the State of New York. We all are very proud of Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. She's the principal to introduce this bill in the New York State Assembly, and the result of that, right now we can see Diwali is declared as a holiday in public school. Let's have a big round of applause for Jenifer Rajkumar.

Now, I just mentioned a few minutes before that this mayor, when he was Brooklyn borough president, Eric Adams gave a promise during the Diwali celebration at Brooklyn Borough Hall, when I will become the mayor, I will make sure, Dilip, your daughter doesn't need to go to school on your celebration. Your friends' daughter and son, they don't have to go to the school during your celebration.

As a result of that, 110th mayor of New York City Eric Adams has fulfilled his promise. Now I would like to request 110th Mayor of New York City Eric Adams and our Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar.

State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar: Namaste. Namaste. Sita Ram. Sat Sri Akaal. Happy Diwali, New York City! Make some noise for me if you are happy to be here in Gracie Mansion!

I'm State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar and I made history when I became the first Indian woman ever elected to a New York State office. I am also the first Hindu ever elected to a New York State office.

And I am a proud Hindu. Most of all, I am a proud American. There are hundreds of people here today, but I want to know, are there Indo Caribbeans in the house? Make some noise for me if you are a proud Guyanese? Are the Punjabis here tonight! How about the Gujaratis in this tent! Are my Sikh brothers and sisters here today! Make some noise for the Tamilians! How about the Malayalis! Anyone here from the great nation of Nepal! How about the Tibetans and Buddhists!

Look, nobody thought I would be standing here on this stage tonight. Like all of our families, mine came here with $300 and one suitcase. My mom was born in a mud hut in India. But here I stand. People told me when I ran for this, Rajkumari, you're a nice girl, you got no shot. But we won, and we won the largest margin of any challenger in this state because anything is possible in the greatest country on earth.

And we didn't stop there. This year, against all odds, I did something that everyone said was impossible: I made Diwali a school holiday in the City of New York.

Today I am proud to stand before the whole world and say that from now on and forever Diwali will be a school holiday in New York City. And today our government says to over 600,000 Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains, we see you, we recognize you, we hear you — and Diwali is an American holiday.

And this victory is because of you. I was your warrior, but I stood on your shoulders. Hundreds of you came to the state capitol and you said Diwali holiday. So, let me here it now: Diwali!

Audience: Holiday!

State Assemblymember Rajkumar: Diwali!

Audience: Holiday!

State Assemblymember Rajkumar: Diwali!

Audience: Holiday!

State Assemblymember Rajkumar: And Diwali widely is now a holiday, because of you.

So, the great Shirley Chisholm, she was the first Black woman ever to serve in the U.S. congress and to run for president of the United States. And she said, if they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair. So, as the first elected of our community, I picked up my folding chair and I went to Albany to fight for us.

And I have to tell you, everyone, when I was in Albany, my mom would call me every day. And she would say, is Diwali going to be a school holiday? Are you going to pass your bill and make Diwali a school holiday? She said, make sure you get that bill passed. And I said, mom, I am going to try. But my mom's daily call was the call of our entire community. It was the same phone call that so many of you made to me.

It was the question that every South Asian and Indo Caribbean has been asking for over three decades: when will Diwali be a school holiday? When will it be seen and heard and recognized as part of the gorgeous mosaic that is New York City? So, on Diwali, Lord Ram and Sita return victorious to the city of Ayodhya, and they were victorious.

And today, we are victorious. This is what victory feels like. This is what victory looks like. And ladies and gentlemen, our community has never been as powerful as it is right now. We are unstoppable, and we have arrived at the table of power in this state. Never forget that with everything going on in the world, in the Middle East we see terrible violence, we see hatred, we see bigotry against different groups.

But we are the ones that can lead the way to peace. Ours is the culture of Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was famously inspired by Gandhi, who said India's Ghandi was the guiding Light of my movement for non‑violent social change. We feel equally at home in a synagogue, in a mosque, in a church, because as Hindus, we don't just tolerate people that are different from us, we go one step further and actively love people that are different from us. So, now it's time to spread our beautiful dharmic light across the city, the nation, the Middle East and the entire world.

So, even though I was the only woman elected to office in Albany, I was never alone in that fight. Can you guess who was standing with me?

Our community was never alone. There was a force lifting us up. There was a force that said, I hear you, I will elevate you, and I will not let you fail. That force was my great partner in government, the great New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

So, do you want to hear from our great Mayor Eric Adams?

When everyone told us no, Diwali holiday will not be possible, Mayor Adams said, yes, Diwali holiday is possible. The mayor said, we must come from a place of possibility. The Mayor calls this the city of yes. He said, yes we can, and yes we will make Diwali a school holiday.

He said that not only is Diwali possible, your community is possible, and he put the entire Department of Education and administration behind the Diwali cause. He made it clear that the South Asian community is a priority for him. He stood up for us. And he told every stakeholder in this state that now and not later is our time. So, look, when others cower, Mayor Adams stands up and leads. This diwali, Mayor Adams reminds us all of Ram. He is the Ram of New York City.

Like Ram, he leads when others do not, and he lead our city in confronting the evils, whether they are poverty, hatred, antisemitism, Islamophobia or indifference. When the world is in crisis, he stands up and takes action. During the Covid crisis, he slept in his office. During the migrant crisis, he went to the southern border, and he goes to the shelters overnight to be in solidarity with those in poverty. He is afraid of nothing, and he is always willing to lead when no one else will; and for that, I admire him so deeply.

But remember, Lord Ram could not defeat the forces of evil alone, he needed Hanuman. He needed the armies of monkeys and bears. So, tonight, let's commit to all be his Hanuman and lift him up as he leads. Do you promise that you will be his Hanuman?

For all he has done for our community, we all call him the Hindu mayor. And tonight, I am proud to announce that the Mayor and I will hold an historic, first ever five‑borough Diwali tour.

We're starting here in Gracie Mansion. We're going to go to Times Square to celebrate Diwali. And then we're going to go to every corner of this city and every borough; and together, we will bring light and prosperity to every corner of this city. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the 110th mayor of New York City, Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Thank you so much. I want to really thank our Assemblywoman who has been a real partner in moving this important holidays to the forefront. I remember last year hearing so many people who wanted this holiday as we moved around the city. And she took that energy to Albany and ensured that we will live up to the commitment and promise of this important holiday.

But I also want to thank my partners who are here in government as well. Assemblymember Grace Lee, Councilperson Brewer, a long‑time friend, former borough president. Councilman Krishnan, Councilmember Lee, and all of our state and assembly lawmakers who assisted, particularly Assemblymember and Speaker Carl Heastie and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart‑Cousins for getting this bill through and making this holiday happen.

So, we often hear about the greatness of Ram and what Ram represented. He was the power and the force against evil, and he pushed to ensure to rid the entire globe of darkness. But there was another significant part of the story of Ramayana. It was Sita. Sita was his other half. She was a woman of strength and integrity. She was willing to sacrifice her life to ensure that Ram was able to accomplish the task.

And so as we move forward in a particularly male dominated society, let's not forget, we will never be able to defeat darkness if we do not acknowledge all the Sitas that are in the universe fighting on behalf and side by side with us.

And so years ago when I was in India, I'll never forget going to the home of Mahatma Gandhi and seeing his last steps. They were permanently in the sidewalk in the pavement. And it's symbolic that the bullet took his life, but it's up to us to continue the journey. His physical transformation through that murder should not stop the spiritual journey.

And Diwali is more than just a holiday. It is a reminder to all of us that we must push away the darkness wherever we see it and bring light. That is what the festival of lights is about. It's more than lighting the candle, it's more than lighting oil. It is lighting up our lives. Add there is so much darkness that we are seeing every day.

So, we truly believe in the life of Ramayana. If we truly believe in a life of Sita, if we truly believe in the life of Ghandi, then we must continue Ghandi's steps. We cannot only be worshippers, we must be practitioners. And so as we leave today from under this tent of Gracie Mansion, let's leave with the energy of taking away the darkness that we are seeing all across our globe and the loss of innocent lives. We cannot continue to watch this engulf go our future and engulf humanity.

Let's be better human beings, and let's live in the spirit of Diwali. Let's live in the spirit of Gandhi. Let's live in the spirit of Sita. Let's live in the spirit of Ram. And then we will live up to the expectations of what this holiday really means.

And I want to really thank EmblemHealth and George Hulse for really being here to continue to sponsor the diversity of our city. I cannot thank you enough. This holiday was so important to us. I look forward to doing this five‑borough tour to let everyone know that with the tour and celebration we are going to push away the darkness and bring in a new light. Thank you very much.

Deputy Commissioner Chauhan: Thank you, Mayor. Just want to present my report card, that in February, 2022, we have South Asian Community Roundtable. One gentleman, very big committee leader, when he was in the City Hall with the mayor, I saw tears in his eye. He told mayor: “Mayor, I'm in New York City since last 40 years, never had a chance to visit City Hall and the Gracie Mansion.” Mayor gave me a task: “Dilip, create the new list, people who didn't visit the Gracie Mansion City Hall, part of that you all are here.” More than 80 organizations participate in this Diwali, Mayor.

Now without further ado, I would like to Pandit Ravi Sivacharya to please come and offer prayers and the diya lighting ceremony. Pandit Ravi Sivacharya from the Ganesha temple, Flushing.

Pandit Ravi Sivacharya: [Conducts prayer.]

Deputy Commissioner Chauhan: Now, as we all know, some of the community leaders, they have done such a great job for our community, so I'm going to call Dr. Vasundhara Kalasapudi, New York City Mayor is going to honor her for her outstanding service for the community, Dr. Vasundhara Kalaspudi, please come and accept your honor.

Now, I would like to call the Indo‑American Arts Council Chairman Dr. Nirmal Mattoo who is doing so much to spreading art and culture in New York City. Dr. Nirmal Mattoo.

Also now we have one of the outstanding doctors, Dr. Hari Shukla.

Also we have a renowned artist Ustad Kamal Sabri, please come on the stage and accept your honor.

Now we have Grammy nominee Chandrika Tandon. Most of all you knew her very well. Chandrika Tandon.

Now we are going to have a group picture.

Thank you, everyone.  Again, Happy Diwali.  Please spread love, peace.  No hate has any place in New York City or anywhere in the world.  Happy Diwali to all.

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