Dear Editor,
As we celebrated Diwali, my thoughts would usually go back to my youthful days, when my friends and I would travel from village to village, absorbing the spectacular displays of the lighted diyas and the fireworks, and enjoying the delicacies prepared and shared by our Hindu neighbours.
Under the PPP/C Government, the Festival did assume national proportion, and did also earn national recognition, as a larger number of Hindus and non–Hindus participated with their Hindu brothers and sisters in the celebration, and with greater fanfare. It would therefore be correct to say that all Guyanese of all ethnicities look forward to Diwali as they do to Christmas. The festival indeed became larger, and the associated events and activities – such as the Motorcade and the Ms. Diwali contests – became welcome additions.
It is noteworthy that the festival, which is dedicated to the Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, signifies the triumph/victory of good over evil; and that towards that end, our Hindu brothers and sisters would clean their houses and temples, giving them a new and clean appearance, for they believe that Diwali brings in new beginnings with new hopes and aspirations.
Under the PPP/C Government, Diwali holds greater significance for Guyanese. While the festival reflects the broad outlook of a multi-religious society, the distribution and sharing of delicacies and the exchanging of gifts and greetings reflect a stronger social bonding in our society, and make our country a stronger and more united place in which to live.
Diwali and its related events and activities communicate more practical lessons that are intended to illuminate our lives and allow us to deal amicably with our fellow Guyanese on a daily basis. And so, as we celebrate Diwali annually, we must continue to emphasize the message and the value of the festival: truth and goodness triumphing over darkness.
Let the diyas illuminate our minds and hearts, and teach us how to interact and live harmoniously with each other every day of our lives. Let us open not only our doors, but our hearts, so that we see a fellow Guyanese as a human being, and not an Indo-Guyanese or an Afro-Guyanese, or Amerindian or Chinese or Portuguese or Dougla.
We have a challenge to keep the light of Diwali shining, and to get it even brighter. It is a challenge to ensure we relegate and exile to the abyss of History those who work to create divisions within our society and seek to destroy the progress we have made as a nation under the PPP/C. We must not allow them to succeed. We must banish into the archives and cesspit of oblivion – where they belong – those who seek to tamper with, and destroy, our democracy, which we achieved at tremendous sacrifice.
Let’s use the occasion of Diwali to promote unity and harmony among our people: to heal wounds, to remove the walls of disharmony, and to help in fostering national unity.
Happy Diwali to all!
Norman Whittaker,
Deputy Chairman,
Local Government
Commission
Former Minister of
Local Government
& Regional
Development
