Washington DC. The City Council of Reynoldsburg, Ohio has passed a resolution recognizing the Diwali and Tihar festival and declaring that the festival would be celebrated  formally in the city from this year.

In a program organized in the city on November 9, the resolution approved by the City Council was made public and a declaration was made as to celebrate the festival officially.

Representing the Nepali community, Dr Damodar Poudel  and Nil Adhikari and Durga Subedi, on behalf of the Nepali speaking Bhutani community, highlighted the importance of Diwali and Tihar in their respective communities.

Bhuwan Pyakurel, a Councilman of the Reynoldsburg City Council had proposed to put Diwali and Tihar in the list of festivals celebrated by the city and had convinced the president and other members in giving the  festival an official recognition. Pyakurel is the first Bhutani of Nepali origin to be elected in the American politics.

Dr Poudel and Pyakurel stated that the Hindu community has been celebrating Diwali and Tihar as a festival that helps propagate wisdom, knowledge, love, peace, and prosperity They also informed the council meeting about the special features of the five days of the festival.

Similarly, Dr JS Jindal represented Indian Hindu community and spoke about the tradition and importance of Diwali  as celebrated by the community.

Most probably, Reynoldsburg, Ohio is the first US city to announce Diwali and Tihar as one of its official festivals.

Councilman Pyakurel said that it was a glorious occasion to have received the privilege to celebrate one’s important religious and cultural festival in the US as a formal festival of the city. He shared the bitter experience of the Bhutanis of Nepali origin of having been forced to leave their country because the government had prohibited them to follow their culture and religion and had banned the celebration of festivals like Dashain and Tihar.

“I feel highly elated that in the US, we could give a formal status to our festival from the City Council. It’s a historic day for Bhutanese of Nepali origin,” he added.

Dr Damodar Poudel told DCNepal that the Nepalis, the Nepali speaking Bhutanis and the Indian Hindus residing in the city are very pleased with the decision. He also noted that Councilman Pyakurel’s hard work had eventually paid off, leading to the present success.