Hindu community lobbies Indian High Commissioner to resolve issue

Indian High Commissioner to Guyana Venkatachalam Mahalingam is being lobbied to provide assistance in resolving the holiday timing controversy, which has caused a division in the local Hindu community, most notably during the celebrations of hallmark events like Diwali and Phagwah.

Massive confusion erupted last year after two Hindu organisations in the country failed to find middle ground on the date for the Festival of Lights – Diwali. This disagreement rolled over into the new year for the Festival of Colours – Phagwah, with the celebration being observed on two days. This again will be the case for Diwali celebrations 2016.

The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha (GHDS) has declared that October 30 is the true date for the celebration of the holiday, while the Guyana Pandits Council (GPC) is holding out that it is October 29.

Restore harmony

In an effort to settle the controversy in order to restore harmony among Guyanese Hindus, the organisations have taken a decision to seek the intervention of an expert from India.

The yet-to-be selected expert, who must be a member of the board responsible for setting national holidays in India and an astrologer, will be responsible for conducting his own study and making his own assessment of when the holidays ought to be held, and both organisations are hopeful that his pronouncement will be timely so as to avoid controversy next year.

GHDS Vice President, Pandit Jagmohan Persaud, during an interview with  Guyana Times on Tuesday, explained that the Indian High Commissioner responded via telephone after several requests were made.

The organisations were still awaiting an official written response from the High Commission, pledging its assistance in this regard.

Pandit Persaud expressed high hopes that by next year, the issue would be resolved.

GPC Leader, Pandit Rudra Sharma, during a telephone interview with this newspaper also shared similar views.

“It is extremely important to us to have this issue resolved, because it is dividing the Hindu community. It is not looking good and we would like to have this resolved as early as possible,” he stated.